


While You Were Out

by anestofbees



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Angst, Biting, Bottom!Loki, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, FrostIron - Freeform, M/M, Slash, Smut, Top!Loki, Vacation, bottom!tony, possessive!Loki, top!tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2013-04-05
Packaged: 2017-12-05 18:18:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/726356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anestofbees/pseuds/anestofbees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Loki's off-grid vacation comes to an abrupt end when chaos ensues in Stark Industries. With so much career stress, will their relationship withstand the strain?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Cabin & The Hunt

The log cabin they had rented was as far out of the way as the couple could possibly get. While Tony Stark's idea of being "off-grid" differed from Loki Odinson's, he had acquiesced to Loki's desire to leave as much technology behind them as possible during their vacation. That meant no JARVIS to keep track of the time and other minutiae of the day, but there was at least solar-powered battery backup for the few things that might require electricity.

In return, Loki agreed to use as little magic as possible during their vacation. Tony insisted that it was only fair. Loki rolled his eyes.

"You're the one who wanted a non-working sabbatical," Tony pointed out. "The whole purpose of a Sabbath is to not exert yourself."

"Says the man who has never observed a Sabbath in his lifetime," Loki countered. "It's not like I use magic a lot when we're at home."

"You do, too." Tony worked the key in the lock to the door of the cabin, but it stuck and refused to turn. He shifted his duffle bags on his shoulders. "Dammit."

"Do not. Let me see." Loki had one large pack on his back and shooed Tony away from the door. He pulled the key out and pushed it back in, frowning as it stuck again. A flick of his fingers and the lock glided open.

"See?" Tony huffed. "You can't even open a door without using magic."

Loki opened the door and held it for Tony to enter the cabin. "Do you want me to leave you out there in the cold or are you going to thank me?"

"Thank you." Tony leaned up for a quick peck on the lips before pushing his way into the living room. The cabin sported rustic, country decor with a mix of hunting and sporting trophies and equipment on the walls. Antlers, mostly, but there were a few pelts here and there. The building had an open floor plan with bookshelves and tables creating boundaries for each of the rooms. "I don't think we're in New York anymore, Toto," he said sarcastically as he slung the duffle bags off his shoulders and onto the king-sized bed at the far end of the cabin.

Loki smirked, closing the door behind him. "We're still in New York, just not the New York you're used to."

"Yeah, what was up with that itty bitty college town we went through -- Helmira, was it? Elvira?"

"Elmira."

"Whatever. Have you seen any more purple in one place before?"

"Can't say that I have. But the people there seemed duller than the rocks they called mountains, so they probably can't help but have such poor tastes in school colors." Loki took off his backpack and started poking through it, joining Tony in the bedroom area to unpack.

"I thought you said we weren't working?" Tony snatched up a book and waved it at Loki. The cover read, _The Weekend Novelist._

"We're not." Loki grabbed it back from him with little effort. "It's casual reading material."

"Right. And if you pick up ideas or want to write a review when we get back, it'll just be a coincidence." Rather than help unpack, Tony flopped backwards onto the bed, then rolled onto his side to watch Loki. "So, remind me again what we're going to be doing?"

"Each other." Loki smirked at him.

"Besides that."

Loki put his pack down and crawled onto the bed beside him, all long limbs and lithe body. "We're going to go for long walks in the woods," he murmured, "see what kind of trouble we can stir up with the local wildlife, and then come back here and cuddle by the fire until we fall asleep in each others' arms." He leaned in for a tender kiss, their lips brushing together.

Tony hummed in approval at the attention. "I think I liked your first idea better."

"Oh, believe me, we will be making plenty of time for that," Loki purred, "I promise."

They took their time unpacking and getting familiar with the cabin. The fridge came stocked with some condiments and bottled water, and they filled in the rest of it with cold cuts, a whole chicken, steaks, and various other cooking necessities. At Loki's insistence, Tony had only brought enough booze to fill one shelf of a cabinet -- otherwise that would have been fit to burst. Tony had been doing better about his drinking, but boredom tended to throw him into a regression. The kitchen was also furnished with a microwave, stove, and toaster, but no dishwasher -- much to their chagrin.

There was no television, certainly no computer or Wifi connection anywhere. Loki unplugged the digital alarm clock and tossed it into a drawer. "We won't be needing this."

Tony raised an eyebrow at him from across the room. "What will we use to keep track of time, then? A pocket sundial? Chalk tally marks?"

"Notches on the bed post."

Tony snorted. After making his cursory circuit around the house, he paused at an old black and white photo on the wall of two tall men holding the head of a great bull moose. He squinted at it. "Hey."

"What?"

"These two gentlemen look awfully familiar," he said, taking the photo down and looking at the back of it, "considering it's from 1890. I'd know those long blonde locks and that dark scowl anywhere."

"Oh?" Loki's tone was amused.

"What were you and Thor doing in New York in 1890?"

"Obviously, we were out for a hunt. It wasn't terribly as exciting as hunting on Asgard, but Thor insisted on hunting something 'exotic.'"

"No kidding?" Tony hung the photo back on its hook. "Did you guys contribute anything else to the decor?" He gestured to the pelts and antlers on the walls.

Loki looked thoughtful, trailing his fingers along a couple of the items in question. "There are a few here, yes. The details have long been forgotten, I'm afraid."

"Aww, so no wild tales of the hunt, then?" Tony came up behind Loki and wrapped his arms around his waist, peering over his shoulder.

"I'm afraid not." Loki reached behind him to run his fingers through Tony's unruly mop, instead. He sighed peacefully, turning his gaze to the world outside their window. "Then again, I was never much of a hunter. I did it to amuse Thor, that's all."

Tony nuzzled into the crook of Loki's neck. "That's fine. I didn't expect us to have to completely rough it, anyway. Hunting was the absolute last thing on my mind when I packed -- well, except for hunting down my bourbon. It mysteriously has gone missing."

"That's because you finished it last week."

"Did I? Or are you lying to me again?" Tony licked at the shell of Loki's ear.

Loki smirked, tilting his head back. "I wouldn't lie to you. Not over something so inconsequential."

"But you'd lie to me about something consequential?"

"I am who I am, Tony."

"That you are." Tony nipped at Loki's ear lobe. "And you are one sexy god of mischief."

"Flatterer." Loki turned and pulled Tony against him into a deep kiss. Tony returned it, moaning softly when Loki bit his lower lip. "Mine," Loki added with a low growl.

"Yours," Tony agreed, pulling him in the direction of the bedroom. "Come, oh, mighty hunter, and claim your prize."

Loki chuckled darkly, pushing Tony along and pursuing him with rough kisses. "Now, that gives me an idea."

"Hmm?" Tony was too busy kissing him back to notice that predatory glint in Loki's green eyes.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

The backs of Tony's knees hit the edge of the mattress and Loki gently pushed him backward, crawling on top of him and nipping his way down Tony's jawline. His long, elegant fingers made short work of the buttons down the front of Tony's shirt and he slid it off of him. Then Loki's lips followed the rope of muscle down Tony's neck and he bit roughly at the juncture between neck and shoulder, growling in Tony's ear. Tony shuddered and moaned, one hand coming up to bury itself in Loki's dark hair while the other hand dragged his nails down Loki's back. It only served to encourage Loki to bite down harder.

Tony pulled Loki's hair hard and captured his lips in a searing kiss, all lips and tongue and teeth. They tussled for control, Tony rolling Loki to the side and attempting to pin him down. Loki allowed this for a few moments, letting Tony take control. But when Tony moved his hands down to tweak at Loki's pert nipples through his shirt, Loki grabbed Tony's wrists and flipped him back down onto the mattress, arms held above above his head while Loki straddled his hips. The kiss was broken -- Loki smirked down at Tony, holding his wrists in place with one hand. "Nice try," he said. "But you're mine, tonight."

Tony squirmed, bucking his hips against Loki's and testing Loki's grip on his wrists. "Loki..."

"Getting impatient?" A slim eyebrow quirked in amusement.

"For you, always."

Loki leaned in and resumed his assault on Tony's neck, causing the other man to squirm and mewl beneath him.

Soon, the rest of their foreplay was skipped in favor of stripping each other naked and grinding against each other eagerly. Loki pulled a bottle of lubricant from the bedside table drawer and tossed it at Tony. "Prepare yourself," he purred deeply. Sitting back on his heels to stroke himself, he added, "I want to watch."

Tony sprawled out on his back, legs in the air, as he flipped the bottle cap open and poured the lube onto his fingers. The position was awkward, but he managed well enough to slide a finger to his entrance without making a mess. Feeling Loki's eyes on him made his dick twitch, and he squirmed as the first digit slipped inside him. He tried to move quickly through the preparation, adding another finger and then another, but Loki shook his head. "Slow down, love," he said.

"I can't," Tony whined. "I want you. Now."

"You can wait," Loki chided. He leaned in and kissed Tony again, slowly and gently. "We have time."

Tony moaned and used his free hand to stroke through Loki's hair. "Need you," he murmured.

"Hush." Loki pulled away, resuming his post at the end of the bed. "Start over."

Tony groaned and did as he was commanded, starting with one finger again and taking his time before adding more.

"Much better." Loki smiled, stroking himself lazily. Finally, he borrowed the bottle of lube and coated his fingers, moving Tony's hand to check for himself. They slipped in with little resistance. "Don't you agree?"

The other man's back arched as Loki dragged his fingers along his prostate. "Yeeeess," he hissed as he gasped for breath. Loki chuckled lowly as he removed his fingers, using them to coat his cock. Placing his hands on Tony's thighs, he pushed in suddenly, burying himself inside of Tony who gasped again and gripped the sheets with his hands. "Loki!"

"Tony?" The smirk faltered a little as Loki panted. The feeling of being completely engulfed was exhilarating.

Tony waited for the sparks behind his eyes to go away before answering, "Do that again."

Loki chuckled and obliged, pulling most of the way out before slamming back home again, causing Tony to cry out.

They kept at this slow, punishing pace for a few moments before Tony squirmed and started raising his hips to meet Loki's thrusts. "More, Loki, please!"

Loki pinned Tony down harder so that he had no leverage. "More?" he said with a playful snarl. "As you wish." He picked up the pace, fucking Tony hard and fast, making the other man moan long and loud. When the moan ended, Tony whimpered obscenities and pleas and nonsense between gasps for breath. 

"Touch yourself for me, Tony," Loki ordered breathlessly without pausing his thrusts.

Tony cried out as he wrapped a hand around his cock, fisting himself to match Loki's relentless pace. "God, Loki, I can't... I won't last--"

"Good." Loki loosened his grip on Tony's legs to lean forward and bite Tony's neck again. The command was a growl in Tony's ear: "Come."

Tony cried out again as pain blended with heady pleasure and brought him to the edge, come spurting all over his hand and onto Loki's stomach. The clenching of muscles milked Loki's own orgasm from him, his seed spilling deep inside Tony. They panted together as they came down from their mutual high. Loki rolled them over onto their sides, slipping out of Tony and pulling him close. He veritably purred as he nuzzled against Tony's face. Tony tilted his head up for a kiss, still breathless.

Outside, a light snow began to fall.

 

The next morning found the couple curled up in bed with only the rising sun's rays alerting them to the time of day. Loki was the first one awake, slowly opening his eyes and taking in the sight in front of him. Tony was facing him, snoring softly with his mouth a jar, his hair a disheveled mess, but his face was completely peaceful. It was a nice change from waking up in bed alone, or to Tony muttering anxiously in his sleep about his latest projects.

Loki reached out to tame some of the spikes and curls in Tony's hair. Tony didn't stir, so Loki stroked his way down Tony's neck to where a bright red and purple bruise marred the skin. He smiled faintly, tracing his finger over the mark. Tony would surely bitch about it later. Or return the favor. Most likely, it would end up being both.

He yawned as he stretched languidly, warm and content beneath the covers, laying beside his lover. He wished he could wake up like this more often.

Tony snorted in his sleep and rolled over. Loki rolled his eyes and leaned forward to place a kiss in his hair before rolling out of bed. He knew that the best way to get Tony to wake up gradually and in a good mood was through his stomach, so he headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.

As the smell of eggs and bacon filled the cabin, Tony began to stir. He waved a hand in front of his face where the sunlight was peeking through the curtains and landing in his eyes. "JARVIS? Time?"

"Time to get up, Sir," Loki intoned from the kitchen, his voice a near-perfect imitation of their digital butler's. "Your breakfast is almost ready." He flipped the eggs and plated the bacon, putting together a tray of food.

Tony chuckled and then sat up in bed with a groan. "Mind-blowing sex _and_ breakfast in bed? Be careful, I might just fall in love with you."

"You already have, otherwise you would have kicked me out a long time ago." Loki left the kitchen briefly to hand Tony a mug of black coffee and two Tylenol. "Good morning." He leaned in for a kiss.

Tony kissed him back. "Morning," he murmured, taking the offered coffee and popping the medications. He paused in sipping his coffee to watch Loki slink back to the kitchen. "Decided to forego clothes today, love?"

"I didn't want to wake you."

"That's a lame excuse."

"Yes, but it's the truth." He turned and gestured to himself. "You would rather I be fully clothed? Do you not appreciate the view?"

"No, no, I appreciate the view just fine," Tony said, "I just worry about grease burns in sensitive areas is all."

Loki snorted, sliding the cooked eggs onto their respective plates. "I think I can handle a few grease splatters, dear one, but thank you for your concern."

"Any time, sweet cheeks." Tony moved the pillows so that they were against the headboard while Loki slid the tray of food between them. Tony frowned. "What, no toast?"

Loki leered at him. "I can toast your buns later for you, if you'd like."

"Oh, baby," Tony snickered. "Promise?"

"Absolutely." Loki slapped Tony's cheek playfully before crawling back into bed. "If you want toast, go make it yourself, lazy ass."

"No." Tony speared a forkful of eggs. "This suits me just fine, thank you. You know I'm just poking fun. When was the last time we made food for each other?"

"You never make food for me."

"Well, not successfully, anyway, but I at least order you nice things. Sometimes I even remember to put them on a plate instead of handing you the carry-out box."

Loki chuckled at that. "That, you do."

Most of their breakfast passes in silence, the two of them enjoying each other's company and the good food. It's Tony who breaks the silence first. "So what was your big plan for today? You said yesterday that I'd given you an idea."

"Ah, yes," Loki says, wiping his lips with a napkin. His trademark mischievous grin is in place once the napkin is lowered. "I propose a hunt."

"I thought we went over this already. You don't like hunting."

"But in this case, the prey would be well worth it."

"Oh?" Tony takes another sip of his coffee and sets it back down. "What do you plan on hunting?"

"You."

Tony's eyebrows shot up into his hairline at that. "Excuse me?"

"Just a fun game, is all it would be," Loki mused. "I'll give you a head start to take off in any direction on foot. You run. I chase. And when I find you, I will take you and fuck you in the middle of the woods. Or wherever you happen to be when I find you." He paused to calmly sip his tea.

"That sounds absolutely raunchy and ridiculous." Tony smirked. "I like it. And what if you can't find me?"

"Not an option."

"It's a potential option. What if I get eaten by a bear?"

"Fine. I will establish the caveat that if I can't find you within the hour, you will be declared the winner and I'll use my magic to come find you and you can have your way with me. Otherwise, the same vacationing rules apply -- no magic, no technology. I can hold my own; it's you I'm more concerned about."

"Aww, shucks, you do care." Tony reached over and fluffed Loki's hair.

Loki swatted at Tony and smoothed his hair back down. "Of course. I can't have you being eaten by a bear."

"'A moose once bit my sister!'" Tony quotes in a mock-English accent. At Loki's confused expression, he adds, "Don't look at me like that, it's from Monty Python."

"'On second thought,'" Loki mutters over his tea cup, "'let's not go to Camelot -- it is a silly place.' And maybe I'll just let a bear eat you."

"I'd rather have you bite me again." Tony runs his hand along his neck, over the hickey Loki had left. "Oww, that sucker burns! What did you do to me?"

Loki snorts and shakes his head. "Marked you as mine. Too bad there's nobody here to see it."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll still be there by the time we head back. Gonna need to wear turtle necks and scarves for a week."

"You're welcome." Loki's grin was just a bit too toothy for Tony's comfort.

"So when does this hunt begin?"

"Whenever you get your ass out of bed and start running."

"Can I at least finish my breakfast and get dressed?"

That toothy grin hadn't wavered. "I'm sorely tempted to say no."

"Sadist."

"You love it."

 

As much as Tony did indeed love and appreciate Loki's sadistic tendencies, he still insisted on finishing his breakfast before putting on jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, a flannel jacket, and his hiking boots. The snow from the previous night hadn't amounted to much, and it was warm enough out that most of it had already melted. He started off at a double-march pace down one of the clearly marked trails, glancing behind his back now and then until the cabin was out of sight.

He took off into the woods, zig-zagging his way through the trees, cautious of his footprints and doing his best not to snap any vegetation in his path. He would double back on his tracks here and there, and then take off in a completely different direction. He kept this up for the first half-hour before he grew bored with it and settled into a jog. He came to a small stream and paused beside it. He'd worked up a sweat, so he dipped his hand into the cold water and wiped it over his face and along his neck. Taking a look around, there wasn't much to see other than trees, rocks, water, and sky. It was one of the reasons why he'd hated the car trip to the cabin: everything outside the city looked the same. It was pretty enough, but not enough to keep his mind occupied. And an unoccupied mind was a dangerous thing to have when you were Tony Stark.

Tony got his bearings and headed off downstream. He kept his ears and awareness open for any signs that Loki might be nearby. There were none. He didn't even have a watch to keep track of the time.

He kept going.

Without warning, Tony was struck from behind and he fell to the ground, a weight on top of him pinning him there. "Gotcha," came a sultry hiss in his ear.

"Oww, Loki," Tony tried to struggle. "Rock in my rib..."

Loki rolled him over before repinning him to the ground. "How about now?"

"Spine!"

"You're a big baby." Loki stood up and offered Tony a hand up. Tony took it, pulling himself to his feet before giving Loki a shove toward the stream and taking off like a bat out of hell.

Loki swung around wildly, keeping his balance and avoiding an impromptu bath, and then took off after Tony. On foot, they were almost evenly matched -- Tony's smaller frame gave him speed while Loki's long legs gave him greater strides. However, Tony wasn't used to long distance running and tired out quickly, giving Loki the advantage. He pounced Tony to the ground and they rolled together in the fallen leaves and pine needles, Tony still playing at struggling. Loki wrestled him into a headlock, forcing Tony to arch his back. "Do you surrender?" he asked.

Tony finally stopped, panting, and tapped Loki's arm. "I give, I give. Leggo."

"No," Loki replied petulantly, but loosened his hold, nibbling on Stark's ear while he ground his crotch into Tony's ass. Tony moaned and rubbed his backside against Loki's hardness. Loki murmured, "You remember what I said I was going to do to you once I caught you?"

"Maybe."

"Say it." Loki nipped at Tony's earlobe -- hard.

"Ah! You... were going to fuck me wherever you found me?"

"Good," Loki purred. "You _were_ paying attention."

"I usually do, and yet you're always surprised." Tony groaned again as Loki's assault made its way down his neck. "Oww, that's still tender from-- OWW!" He gasped and writhed as Loki added to the bruise he'd already left. "Bastard! That hurts!"

"Language, Anthony," Loki tutted at him. Then his tone turned a bit more sinister as he clipped, "Pants, off, now." Loki moved back to give Tony room, and Tony grumbled as he reached down to undo his belt and pants, shimmying them down his legs until they stopped at his hiking boots. "That will do," Loki said. He stood then, laced his fingers through Tony's hair and pulled his hair back until Tony was sitting back on his heels. With his free hand, Loki undid his own pants and belt, freeing his hard member and tapping it against Tony's lips. "Suck."

Tony parted his lips and took Loki in, swirling his tongue along his length. Loki pushed his way in, using his hold on Tony's hair to control how much Tony took and how fast. Tony hollowed his cheeks, sucking hard and causing Loki to growl lowly in appreciation. Loki buried his other hand in Tony's hair and started fucking his face. Tony did well to keep his breathing even around the thrusts, but he still had his limits. He started choking, and Loki paused inside him without pulling out, waiting for Tony to regain his composure. The man on his knees raised his wet brown eyes to gaze up at Loki's face. Loki smirked and resumed his thrusts.

Finally, Loki pulled out and let go of Tony's hair, sauntering around the kneeling man. "Please tell me I'm getting more than spit, today," Tony quipped, not bothering to turn his head.

"Please, Tony," Loki drawled, popping the cap of a small bottle of lube from his back pocket, "I'm a sadist, not a barbarian."

He gently pushed Tony forward to put the man on all fours, then slicked up his fingers with the oil and teased them against Tony's entrance. Tony leaned into the fingers, encouraging him. One elegant finger slipped its way in, closely followed by a second, and the two scissored Tony open, pumping in and out of him. Tony moaned and wiggled his ass slightly, earning himself a smack for his trouble. "Keep still," Loki commanded, his free hand settling at the small of Tony's back and massaging patterns into it.

"I can't help it."

"Yes, you can." Loki slapped Tony's ass again. "I brought the toys with us, remember? In case you needed a reminder."

"Oh, I might need a reminder later this week. After I turn the tables on you and claim _your_ ass."

Loki chuckled. "We'll see." He added a third finger to his ministrations, stretching Tony's hole open wide and causing Tony to moan. He slid the fingers back out and lined himself up with Tony's entrance. He eased himself in a little bit and pulled back again, making short shallow thrusts that frustrated Tony to no end. Tony tried to wriggle his ass again, but Loki's hands on his hips held him still.

Loki pushed all the way in, finally, burying himself in Tony's slickened heat. "You feel so good," he breathed.

"Yeah?" Tony panted. "You don't feel half-bad yourself."

Loki spanked him again, then buried his hand in Tony's hair, yanking his head back. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

Tony groaned in reply.

"That's what I thought." Loki kept his hand in Tony's hair as he thrust into him hard. Tony's fingers scrabbled for purchase in the dirt and pine needles under him as Loki set a relentless pace, his prick glancing over Tony's prostate with each thrust. Tony moved to rest on his elbows and Loki let him, releasing his hair. The new angle sent sparks flying behind Tony's closed eyelids and he moaned. "Better?" Loki murmured.

"Much better," Tony agreed, his back arching so that Loki hit the perfect spot. "Ah!"

"Good." Loki slapped both of Tony's ass cheeks and fucked him hard and fast.

Tony leaned his weight on one arm while his other hand reached for his abandoned cock, stroking it in time to Loki's thrusts. Before long, Loki's rhythm became erratic, though just as forceful as before. He pulled Tony up by his hair again until Tony was in his lap, then moved the hand to Tony's throat, squeezing gently. "Getting close?" he growled in Tony's ear. Tony just nodded, still fisting himself rapidly. "Good. Come for me, Tony." He nibbled at Tony's ear, earning a keening moan in reply. Tony came shortly after that, white ropes of come splattering to the ground beneath them. Loki sank his teeth into Tony's uninjured shoulder and tightened his grip on Tony's throat as he came.

They stayed like that for several moments while Loki's breathing evened out -- and then Tony's, once Loki let go of his throat. Loki licked and kissed the new mark on Tony's shoulder, then nuzzled into the man's hair. "Mine," he said softly.

"Yours," Tony croaked like a boy hitting puberty. "Damn. I need some water."

Loki chuckled, ruffling Tony's hair before helping him to his feet. Tony paused to wipe some of the dirt and pine needles off his knees before pulling his pants up. "Filthy looks good on you," Loki said with a smirk.

"And you're an ass," Tony said, cuffing Loki in the chin playfully before offering him a hand up. "Come on. I want to get back to the cabin."

Loki grinned and accepted the hand, getting to his feet gracefully. "Do you remember the way back?"

Tony looked around, feeling a bit clueless. "That way?" He pointed.

Loki shook his head.

"Well, then. Lead on, McDuff."

Loki's grin didn't falter as he reached out and laced his fingers with Tony's and led him back in the direction of the cabin.

 

The week continued much the same way, with the couple taking turns being hunter and prey. They ran into the occasional deer, raccoon, and even a porcupine, but there were no bears to speak of -- and certainly no moose. When they weren't banging each others' brains out or causing mischief and mayhem for any campers they ran into, they were in the cabin, picking through books and the fridge and the booze cabinet and making plans for what to bring -- and what not to bring -- the next time they went on vacation.

It was on the fifth day of their vacation that the snow began to fall again. This time, it didn't let up. It continued on into the sixth evening, piling up high and heavy outside the cabin door. Tony and Loki started a fire in the fireplace and curled up together, naked, under a great pile of blankets on the couch. Tony ran his fingers through Loki's hair, while Loki nursed a warm cup of tea.

They sat like this in comfortable silence, until a brilliant flash of light lit up the cabin and a loud boom arose from outside.

Tony looked startled. "Thunder sno--?"

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake," Loki interrupted vehemently, almost throwing his tea cup against the wall. "Thor!"

They disentangled themselves from the blankets and pulled on pants in record time. Loki was the first one to the door, opening it carefully and shining a flash light outside. "This had better be important!" he snapped into the darkness as the wind whipped his hair around and snowflakes danced through the open door around him.

Tony recognized the loud thump that followed to be Thor landing outside their door. He went into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee -- with Thor there unexpectedly, they were surely going to need it.

"Brother!" the great blonde bellowed as he swept into the cabin, tracking snow across the floor. "Forgive me for interrupting your vacation."

Loki slammed the door shut behind him and crossed his arms. "My forgiveness depends on why, exactly, you are here."

Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I would not have come if it were not for Ms. Pepper Potts contacting me for assistance."

"Pepper called you?" Tony groaned from the kitchen. "She was only supposed to do that if it were an absolute emergency."

"I'm afraid that's why I've come, Tony," Thor said somberly. "Your arc reactor at the Tower -- it seems to be failing."

Tony scowled at him, eyebrows knitting together. "Failing? It can't fail. My reactors don't fail. She can't be--"

"I can't say that I know much about these things," Thor interrupted. "But there was no trace of jest in her voice."

"You know she wouldn't be bothering us if it wasn't important," Loki added from his post at the door. "She knows better."

"She had a message for you, too, Loki." Thor turned to him. "She said that your transmission failed and that you missed your deadline. I'm afraid I don't know what that means, either."

Loki mirrored Tony's scowl, rubbing a hand over his face. "It means the draft for my latest book didn't go through, and now I'm in deep shit with my publisher." He turned to Tony with a growl. "Is Mercury in retrograde, again?"

Tony held up his hands as if in surrender and then poured three cups of coffee to pass around.

"I know this storm won't allow for your vehicle to pass safely back to New York," Thor said, "but Ms. Potts seemed to think that it was urgent enough that you return immediately."

"Yup, and I will," Tony grumbled, handing Thor a mug. "In a minute. If it blows up or fails completely within the next hour, my rushing home isn't going to help prevent that. She didn't say anything about it threatening to blow up, did she?"

"I can't say that she mentioned it."

"Huh." Tony shrugged and handed another mug to Loki. "I'm sorry, love."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." Loki supped the dark liquid carefully, making a face at the bitter taste. "You go on ahead, I'll finish things here and travel back once the snow stops."

"Alright." Tony pecked Loki on the cheek before heading for the bedroom closet where he'd stashed an updated version of his Mark V armor. He suited up and walked back to the door where Thor was waiting. "See you soon, Loki."

"Be safe, Tony," Loki said quietly, giving Tony a nod.

"Always."

With that, Thor and Iron Man disappeared into the blizzard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any and all Elmira College students and residents I may have offended.


	2. Homecoming

Loki could not sleep that night -- no thanks, in part, to the coffee, but also because of the unwelcome interruption to the otherwise delightful vacation he'd been having. Now, he was grumpy and agitated and turned his new-found energy into straightening the cabin. He washed the dishes -- by himself. He picked up and refolded the blankets from the couch -- by himself. He assembled the laundry and packed up their remaining belongings -- by himself.

He was gettin' really sick of this "by himself" shit.

"It's bad enough I have to deal with it at home on a daily basis," he grumbled to the empty house, "now I have to be alone on my vacation."

He pulled the digital alarm clock out of the drawer and placed it back on the bedside table, not bothering to plug it in and draw power just so it could flash at him all night long.

Once their bags had been repacked and he'd nibbled on the last of the leftovers in the fridge, he collapsed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He fidgeted and stretched and tried to get comfortable, but he still wasn't tired. Instead, he reached for his bag and pulled out a book and notebook with a pen. He stared at the jacket of the hardcover book, flipping it over to stare at the picture of the author. The lines of the face were familiar, but that was where the resemblance between himself and the author ended: the author had dark-blonde curly hair, sparkling blue eyes behind thin gray frames, a well-trimmed goatee, and a winning smile that had attracted as many readers as his material had. Loki sighed as he opened his notebook to the notes on his latest writing project.

"Poor William Hiddlesworth," he muttered. "You're going to have a long day tomorrow when you get home."

 

"I really hate snow," Tony declared as he touched down at the Tower.

"You Midgardians have an unusual concept of blizzards," Thor said beside him.

Tony waved him off as the doors opened for them. "This is unusual for New York City. We don't usually have to shut down transportation and crap because of a few inches. This is just ridiculous."

"Welcome home, Sir," came JARVIS' voice from the ceiling.

Tony wasted no time in taking the suit off and jumping straight to business. "What the hell is this I hear about the arc reactor failing?"

"I have been picking up some irregular readings from the reactor core that indicate the element has become unstable," the AI reported, bringing up screens of technical details and schematics around the penthouse living area. "While they are not significant enough to pose a threat to the staff and residents of the Tower, you had requested to be informed immediately of any unusual activity."

Tony pursed his lips as he headed for the bar to pour himself a drink. "And where's Pepper?"

"Ms. Potts is on her way, Sir. Estimated time of arrival is five point two minutes."

"Thanks, Jarv." He raised a glass to Thor. "Drink?"

"No, thank you, Tony," Thor said. "If it is alright with you, I would retire to my chambers."

"Sure, whatever you'd like, Big Guy. Thanks for coming to get me."

"You are welcome. I am sorry, again, that I had to interrupt your vacation."

Tony shrugged. "It is what it is. I have to get downstairs and check out the reactor. See what's going on with it. If something that big can start failing for almost no apparent reason, it doesn't bode well for this." He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. "You know?"

"Indeed," Thor agreed. "Do call if you need any help. I'm not very technically inclined, but I would lend a hand in anyway possible."

"I'll call you if it needs a jump start," Tony teased. "Thanks. Have a good night."

Thor gave him a bit of a bow before heading for the elevator, leaving Tony alone with his drink and the digital screens of information. He sighed as he looked them over. At first glance, he could tell something wasn't adding up, but he couldn't figure out where the problem was coming from. 

Pepper arrived moments later, her heels clicking against the floor as she entered the room, a padded portfolio in her hand. "Welcome back, Tony," she said.

"Pepper." Tony nodded at her and took another sip of his drink. "Thanks for calling me home."

Her expression was slightly pained. "I hated to do it -- I know how little time you two get to spend together -- but when JARVIS told me about the fluctuations, I didn't know what to think."

Tony waved her off. "Okay, for one, I'm tired of people apologizing about my vacation. It's done, it's overwith, just let it go. For two, you made the right call. It's not like I could have walked you through it over the phone or anything, because I have to actually go down there and physically check it out myself." He polished off his drink in one big gulp. "Finally, I've decided that the next vacation we take is going to be somewhere where there isn't any goddamned snow. I'm sick of it." Tony paused. "JARVIS, make a note to talk to Thor about possible snow gods to negotiate with."

"Noted, Sir."

Pepper's mouth quirked into a smile. "I think we're all sick of the snow, Tony."

"Yeah, but I'm Tony fucking Stark, there's gotta be someone I can pay off."

"There was another reason why I called you home."

"No, no, no." Tony waved his hand in a chopping motion over his throat. "The arc reactor is an emergency, that's the only thing I'm going to deal with until tomorrow afternoon, when I was _supposed_ to get back."

"The board members have called an emergency meeting."

Tony stopped, staring at her. "When?"

She pulled a memo out of her portfolio and slid it onto a table. "Tomorrow morning, eight o'clock sharp."

"Son of a," Tony trailed off, returning to his bar for a refill. "What do you think they're up to?"

"More of the usual, I suppose," Pepper said. "They were counting on you not being here."

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to crash their party."

"As long as it's more figurative than literal, I'm okay with it."

 

Since Loki considered himself officiallly off-vacation, he saw no problem in using his magic to deal with the snow outside the cabin door once it was light outside. A great swirling wave of wind lifted up the offending white stuff from the porch and car and tumbled off into the forest. He couldn't imagine how mortals managed snow removal by hand -- then again, he imagined Thor would take a big shovel and move it all just for fun. Loki just couldn't be bothered.

He loaded up the car -- a giant SUV that Tony had insisted on taking for the four-wheel drive capabilities -- with their belongings and gave the cabin a good once over before he locked the door behind him. As he slid in behind the wheel of the car and started it up, he pressed the button that would adjust everything to his comfort. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Tony had been the one to teach him to drive, but it wasn't an activity he particularly enjoyed. He set off up the road, trying out the four-wheeled drive option for a few hundred yards before giving up. The magic gust of wind travelled before him, blowing snow off to the sides. The ride was much smoother and less harrowing from then on, though he switched back to four-wheel drive and turned off his magic snowblower once he came close to the main road.

Loki travelled in silence for a while before boredom set in and he turned on some music. He became lost in thought as he travelled along the highways and by-ways of western New York state. He reached for his pack in the passenger seat and pulled out a small digital recorder -- it had been a gift from Tony. Switching it on, he spoke into the microphone, "Rewrite chapter fourteen to include more details on Poulin and Carroll's relationship. Possible back story opportunity?"

He switched it off.

Loki had never meant to become a semi-famous writer, even if it was under a pseudonym. He knew mortals were simple creatures, so writing on a variety of subjects -- including self-help and romance -- and making money off of his writing soon became as easy as breathing oxygen. He never expected to have to don someone else's visage and personality in order to hold face-to-face meetings with agents, publishers, and interviewers. All these things helped to increase his profits, as Tony had pointed out, so it became a necessary evil.

He sighed again as he watched the snow-covered scenery drift by outside the windows. "Of course the draft submission had to get fucked up," he swore, banging the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. He hated having his publisher -- or anyone, for that matter -- on his case, especially when it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't until he noticed the little blue lights in his rearview mirror that he realized he was speeding -- when the speed limit had already been reduced due to the snow in the first place.

He hissed and struck the steering wheel again for good measure as he pulled over, face shifting into the persona of one William Hiddlesworth. He schooled it into his most charming smile and kept his hands on the wheel until the police officer came to the window. The officer motioned for him to roll down the window. "Morning," she said. "Do you know why I've pulled you over today?"

"I'm afraid I have an idea, yes," he said with just a hint of chagrin.

"Yeah, I clocked you doing 70 in a 45, which can be classified as criminal speeding." At his cringe, she continued, "You do realize that the speed limit has been lowered due to the poor road conditions?"

"I understand, officer," he replied. He would be polite, but he didn't want to incriminate himself any further by confirming or denying anything.

"Can I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance, please?"

"My wallet is in my right pants pocket," Loki said, "and the others are in the glove box."

"Go ahead."

Loki reached for his pocket, taking out his license from his wallet before reaching for the door of the glove box. Thankfully, Tony's connections had given him all the practical paperwork for such things under his pseudonym. He handed them to the officer. "Here you go."

"Thank you -- I'll be right back."

Loki sighed as he watched the traffic zoom past him down the highway. Surely there were others going much faster than 70 miles per hour that she could have caught. But no, he'd lost his concentration for just long enough to get a speeding ticket. For _criminal_ speeding, no doubt.

Tony would not be pleased.

Minutes later, the police officer reappeared at his window, handing him back his paperwork. "Everything checks out," she said, "and I knocked down your ticket for you where this is your first offense, Mr. Hiddlesworth." She handed him the citation.

"Oh, thank you," he breathed a sigh of relief, "this means a lot to me."

"You're welcome. Just pay more attention to your speed, please. We're trying to keep everyone safe."

"Absolutely." He flashed a grin at her.

She gave him a nod. "Take care, now."

"Thank you, you, too."

Once she was back in her cruiser, Loki checked over his shoulder for traffic and pulled back onto the highway. Once he was a few miles down the road, his phone began to ring. He picked it up. "Tony?"

"Hey, baby cakes, how's it going?" came the familiar voice on the other end.

Loki groaned. "I hate everything."

"So, the usual, then?"

"I got a speeding ticket."

Tony just laughed.

"It's not funny," Loki hissed. "I was doing 70 in a 45."

"Ouch. Any particular reason why?"

"I just got distracted thinking about coming home and having to deal with Shirley."

"Your publisher? It's not going to be that bad. Shit happens. Files corrupt or just plain get lost between points A and B all the time."

"That doesn't mean I want to listen to her bitch about it for half an hour."

"You'll survive."

Loki moved his phone from one ear to the other. "How are things on your end?"

It was Tony's turn to groan. "I took a look at the reactor. Still don't know what's wrong with it, but Pep was right -- it's glitching. Nothing major, but even minor glitches make me worried. The cooling system seems to be working fine, so it shouldn't be breaking down."

"Do you want me to look at it when I get back?"

"Would you? Just sniff around, see if it's been tampered with since we've been gone?"

"Of course."

"There's more."

"Uh-oh."

"The board members tried to have a little pow-wow this morning, when I wasn't supposed to be here."

"Oh, fun. What was it about?"

"More of the usual. They're trying to take over and get back into weapons manufacturing, and we won't budge."

"Excellent." Loki tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Anything else?"

"Uhm, I love you and I want to fuck your brains out?"

Loki snorted. "Do you really think we'll have time for that?"

"Where are you now?" 

"Somewhere between hell and home." He looked around for a sign. "I don't know, Tony."

"Why aren't you using the GPS?"

"Because I don't like it."

"Whatever you say, Steve Rogers." There was the sound of shuffling. "It's not like you have to call Shirley right away when you get back."

"Yes, actually, I do."

"Just wait until the time we were supposed to be home to do it. Come on, you know I would do the same thing for you."

Loki sighed. "We'll see what time it is when I get back. But I really need to take care of that as soon as I can -- it's important."

"I know having your own job and income is important to you, love. I won't keep you too long from it, I promise."

"Alright. I should probably get off the phone before I get stopped for that, too."

"Nah, so long as you keep control of the car, you should be fine. But if you really want to, I suppose I can let you go."

"Go work on the reactor. That'll keep you busy for a while."

"Yes, Master."

Loki chuckled. "Good bye, Tony."

"Later, love."

 

It was several hours later before Loki pulled into their private parking garage beneath the Tower. He hoisted all of the bags by himself and headed for the private elevator that would lead straight to the penthouse. After the ride up, when the doors finally opened, Tony was there, dressed casually, arms open to help take the bags. He leaned in for a kiss. "Welcome home."

Loki kissed back before handing Tony the duffle bags. "Thank you. I took care of everything with the cabin, so we should be all set to return the key."

"Thanks for taking care of all that." Tony frowned. "I didn't mean for you to have to do it all yourself."

"I know you didn't. It's not a problem." As they passed through the living room on the way to their bedroom, Loki nodded in the direction of Tony's digital screens monitoring the reactor. "Have you figured anything else out, yet?"

"Not a thing, and it's driving me nuts. I'm a genius, I should be able to figure this out." Tony tossed his bags in a corner of the bedroom, scowling to himself.

"I'll go look at it for you," Loki offered, unshouldering his pack and placing it delicately on a chair. He turned toward the door, but was stopped and twirled around by a hand on his arm. Tony pulled him forward by his shirt collar and kissed him deeply. Loki returned the kiss with a soft moan.

Tony barely pulled away to speak. "Not now. Sex now. We have time." His fingers went to the buttons of Loki's dress shirt and made short work of them, while Loki tugged at the hem of Tony's T-shirt, breaking the kiss long enough to pull the shirt over Tony's head.

They continued kissing even as they made their way toward the bed, each man undoing his own belt and pants. Tony tripped and stumbled a bit, falling backwards onto the bed and Loki assisted by pulling Tony's jeans the rest of the way off. Once Loki was out of his own pants, he crawled onto the bed on top of Tony and kissed him again. "Did Pepper say anything about these?" he murmured, tracing a finger over one of Tony's hickeys.

"She knows better," Tony said with a smirk. "She's seen enough of them over the years that they don't faze her at all."

"How is she doing? With us, I mean."

"She seems fine. She would make it clear if she wasn't fine, you know that. What she and I had, it was a beautiful thing, but we both knew I could never be what she wanted. Or deserved."

"So, now, here we are." Loki nuzzled the side of Tony's neck as he spoke in a sultry tone, "Am I want you want?"

Tony moaned, carding his fingers through Loki's hair. "Most definitely, though I'm not entirely convinced I deserve you."

"I'm here because I want to be, dear one. There's no where else I'd rather be, and no one else I'd rather be with."

"Shucks." Tony grinned and pulled Loki in for another kiss. 

Tongues tangled and hands groped, but they took their time, moving slowly and gently against each other. It was Loki who broke the silence, panting in Tony's ear, "I want to ride you." 

"Like I'm going to say no," Tony teased with a soft smirk. Loki nipped at Tony's bottom lip before reaching for a tube of oil on his bedside table. He undid the stopper, pouring some of the oil on his fingers and preparing himself. 

Drops of oil hit Tony's chest and he couldn't help but rub them in while he watched Loki slip his fingers into his ass. Loki's head tilted back, exposing that beautiful pale throat -- sporting just a couple of his own light marks from the week's activities. "Do you like what you see, Mr. Stark?" Loki purred.

"Oh, yes, the view from down here is magnificent." Tony reached for the tube of oil and poured some out onto his hand, slickening his hard-on from tip to base.

Loki took the tube back and replaced the stopper, tossing the bottle aside as he leaned in for another heated kiss. Tony returned it hungrily, massaging the excess oil on his hands onto Loki's ass. Loki angled his hips and Tony lined up his prick with Loki's hole as the god slowly leaned back, impaling himself a little at a time.

"God, Loki," Tony moaned. "You are so tight."

"Mmhmm." Loki smiled, slowly lowering himself down. "It feels good."

Once Loki was finally settled on top of Tony's hips, they paused and spent a moment breathing together. Loki's dark hair fell across his face, only adding to the debauched look that Tony loved. Tony reached up to tuck Loki's hair behind his ear, running his knuckles along Loki's jaw. "Beautiful," he murmured.

Loki just grinned, and turned his head to kiss at Tony's hand. "You're too good to me," Loki said as he nuzzled at Tony's hand. Then he captured Tony's thumb between his lips and sucked hard at it.

Tony moaned, feeling his dick twitch inside of Loki. He moved his hips, giving Loki a little jostle. "Gonna put on a show for me, pretty boy?"

Loki released Tony's thumb and straightened, giving his hips a little wiggle as he stretched his arms behind his head. His torso was covered with a fine sheen of sweat that glistened in the light. "You want me?"

"More than you'll ever know."

Loki started to move then, using only his knees and thighs to pump himself up and down over Tony's cock. He stroked his hands down his body from his neck, down his chest and stomach, and down to his thighs. Then they came back up, one pausing to tweak a nipple while the other buried itself in his own hair. 

Tony bucked his hips up into Loki's warm, slick heat and let his fingernails rake down Loki's thighs, causing the god to quiver and moan. "Fuck yeah," Tony breathed, then bit his lower lip. He wrapped a hand around Loki's length and started to jerk him off. 

Loki hissed between his teeth at the sensations, letting his head fall back. "More, Tony," he begged.

Tony squeezed. "More of that?"

Loki cried out, his prick jumping in Tony's hand. "More of everything!"

Tony's free hand came up to play with Loki's other nipple, giving it a good twist between his finger and thumb as he tightened his grip on Loki's cock. "You always like it rough, huh, baby?"

"Always," Loki whispered. "Is it not more fun this way?"

"I'm not complaining." Tony leered up at him, raking his nails down Loki's chest.

Loki shuddered and writhed, hips gyrating as he tried to concentrate on fucking Tony rather than fucking his hand. "I can't take much more."

"Eyes on me," Tony said, playing with the head of Loki's cock. "I want to watch you come undone."

Loki whimpered, feeling a chill run up his spine at those words. He tilted his chin down to his chest, watching Tony's face through thick, dark eyelashes, his mouth open and panting softly.

Their movements became hurried, Tony whispering filthy words of encouragement while Loki moaned and finally reached his climax, coming all over Tony's chest. Tony came moments later, filling Loki with his seed. After they caught their breath, Loki collapsed on top of his lover, moving his hips to let Tony's prick slowly slip out of him. Tony moaned at the loss of contact, but turned his head to kiss Loki. "I love you."

"Mmm," Loki murmured, returning the kiss and then rubbing his nose against Tony's. "Mine. Yours."

"You're so cute after you come," Tony teased, playing with Loki's hair. He yelped softly when Loki nipped at his nose.

"Sir," came JARVIS' voice, "Ms. Potts is on her way to the penthouse."

"Tell her to wait in the living room," Tony replied, "I need a shower."

"Very good, Sir."

" _We_ need a shower," he corrected himself, poking Loki in the side. "Come on, get up."

Loki growled and nipped at a hickey.

"Oww! Please? Please get up?"

"If we must," Loki sighed, rolling off of Tony and onto the bed.

Tony kept his hand in Loki's hair and pulled him in for another kiss. "I promise to make it worth your while."

Loki moaned. "Mmm, well, since you put it that way."

Pepper was left waiting for a long time.


	3. The Arc Reactor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki learns more about Mr. Hiddlesworth's origins, gets yelled at by his publisher, and visits the arc reactor.

When it came to Tony, Pepper was used to being kept waiting. But an hour after she'd arrived on the penthouse floor, there had still been no signs of either of the penthouse's residents.

"JARVIS," she spoke to the AI, "could you politely remind Tony that I'm here? And Loki's publisher has been trying to reach him for the past fifteen minutes and hasn't stopped calling."

"Yes, Ms. Potts," JARVIS replied before going silent once more.

To keep herself occupied, she flipped through papers in her padded portfolio for the billionth time, mentally ticking things off her checklist before adding to it again. Some of her To Do list was of course kept on her Stark Pad, but she still preferred paper for certain tasks and projects. She'd become so good at her job that most of the time she could commit her list to memory, negating the need for either medium. Officially, she was no longer COO of Stark Industries, but she had stayed on as an employee and still helped Tony with his household and business operations. Recently, when Loki's writing had taken off, he had requested her help as a personal assistant and -- since he didn't need nearly as much assistance as Tony ever did -- the extra work had blended seemlessly into her daily routine. 

Loki was the first one to arrive in the living room, impeccably dressed in a dark green button-down dress shirt, black slacks, and shiny black dress shoes. His hair was still lightly damp and he was finger-combing it as he walked. "Good afternoon, Ms. Potts."

"Mr. Odinson," Pepper smiled. "Or would you prefer Mr. Hiddlesworth, today?"

Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'd prefer Loki."

"Then I would prefer Pepper, if you don't mind, Loki."

"Pepper," Loki repeated, bowing his head to her. "I take it Shirley has been harassing you all afternoon?"

"More like since the two of you left the building last week."

"I apologize. She can be quite obnoxious when it comes to deadlines."

"That's her job, Loki, I can't fault her for that."

"I hired her; I can."

Pepper chuckled softly and handed him his mail and some papers. "I threw out your rejections, but there are a couple of 'We'll contact you in the future' letters in there. Also, I pulled the nicest of the fan mail letters for your perusal."

Loki smirked. "Thank you. Have you been able to assign someone to send out form letters to my fans?"

"I'm still working on it, though Tony insists that you write something yourself."

"Does Iron Man send out his own thank you notes? I think not."

"I see your point, but we both agreed that it would help with William's persona."

Loki made a face and acted as if he was gagging on something foul tasting. "I am not pleased at all with how popular Mr. Hiddlesworth has become."

"Well, that's what happens when you take the faces of two handsome actors and mash them together on the back of a women's romance novel."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, nothing."

Tony walked in on the conversation at that point, dressed in a white wife-beater and dark jeans. "Whose faces are we mashing with a romance novel?"

Loki smiled at him. "We were just picking on poor William, again."

Tony chuckled. "Ah, yes, poor William Hiddlesworth, the long-lost love child of Thomas Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth."

"Who?"

"The actors I used to morph his face for you. Didn't I show you? I could have sworn I did."

"Somehow you failed to mention these men were actors."

"Oh, yeah, they're fucking hot. I'll have to show you their movies sometime."

Pepper cleared her throat. "Tony, I wanted to talk to you about this morning's meeting. Loki, you need to call Shirley."

Loki grumbled. "Right. Mr. Hiddlesworth has a phone date." He leaned in and kissed Tony before sauntering off toward his office. "I'll be back eventually."

"Later, babe," Tony called after him before turning back to Pepper. "What about the meeting? It was all the same routine, they talked, I interrupted, I kicked their asses back to D.C. What's the big deal?"

"Tony, it's going to happen again," she slid another memo onto the table. "They're going to keep at it until you give in."

"And I'm going to keep fighting them so long as the mole keeps delivering these letters for us."

"May I suggest something?"

"Have I ever said you couldn't?"

"Give in."

"No."

"It doesn't have to be weapons manufacturing--"

"I don't care, Pep! I am not working with any government entity."

"Tony--"

"Pepper!"

"You could pick up a few small contracts here and there just to help upgrade their technology."

"I don't care! No! No is no is no."

"Just think about it," Pepper pleaded with her eyes. "It would get the board off your back and keep certain people very happy without you sacrificing your ethics."

"No." He looked her in the eye and his resolve wavered for a moment. "Fine," he sighed. "Find me one--"

"I've found six." She placed the contracts on the table. "Look them over, see if anything suits you, and get them back to me by the next board meeting. I will be checking up on you to make sure at least one of them gets done. Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

Tony frowned at the papers cluttering his living space. "That will be all, Ms. Potts."

 

Meanwhile, on the otherside of the penthouse, Loki had slid his face into Mr. Hiddlesworth's features just as easily as he slid into his rolling desk chair. He had found that using the man as a sort of totem helped him focus on his writing, putting him into the appropriate headspace. It only made sense that he would use him now when dealing with Shirley, even if she couldn't see him -- after all, it was good practice.

He reached for the telephone, about to dial her number, when it rang under his finger tips. A quick look at the caller I.D. confirmed his suspicions: "Shirley, darling!" he answered in a light tone that was all-William and not-at-all-Loki.

" _William!_ " came the shrill reply. "I've been trying to reach you for _days!_ Where have you been?"

Loki tried not to sigh, keeping his persona as intact as possible. "I was on vacation, like I told you I would be. My P.A. told me what happened." He paused, bringing up the file on his Stark Pad and quickly attaching it to an e-mail. "I'm sending the draft to you, now. I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened."

He set the phone down, put it on speaker, and let her go off on him for several minutes in that same ear-splitting tone -- something about responsibility and deadlines and the editing and printing process. Once she finally broke for air, he cut in, "Yes, I undersand, Shirley, I'm sorry. I will do my personal best to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Do you know anything about Mercury being in retrograde?"

"Don't you spout that astrological mumbo-jumbo at me, William, you know I can't stand it."

Loki rolled his eyes. _Oh, well._ "Forgive me. Have you checked your inbox yet?"

"Let me check." The sounds of a mouse click came through the phone. "Yep! There it is! Now let me make sure I can open it. Yep! Got it! Now, about your next book--"

"Darling, I'm so sorry, but you're going to have to speak with my agent, seeing as I'm still well within the deadline for that one. It's in the works, but I haven't settled on a publisher, seeing as there was nothing in our original contract about another book."

"Please, William, don't try to pull that on me--"

"I'm not pulling anything, Shirley," he said calmly, "I know my rights and how the system works. Miranda will take care of everything for us, if it's something you want to persue."

"If you're sure."

"Shirley, I'm sure."

She chuckled. "Alright, William, I'll put this draft through and I'll get back to you with any edits we need."

"Thank you, darling. We'll speak, soon."

"Have a good day!"

Loki hung up on her, groaning to himself. Why did mortals always assume they could get one up on him?

He quickly checked his e-mails, seeing a couple of messages from his agent, and called her next. "Miranda, darling, this is William."

Miranda's voice was younger, but much less shrill than Shirley's. "Hey, William! Thanks for getting back to me!"

"No problem at all, I just wanted to let you know that I just got off the phone with Shirley -- the publisher?"

"Oh, yes," came the noneplussed reply, "I heard from her a lot this week. I tried to tell her that you were off-grid, but I'm sure you know how well that worked."

"About as well as nailing Jell-O to the wall, yes. Listen, she wants the next book."

"So I gathered. I'm working on the new contract as we speak."

"You're a doll." He smiled. "I knew I could count on you to stay ahead of the game."

Miranda laughed. "I do try. Anything else you needed me to know about?"

Loki flipped through the papers Pepper had given him. "I've got a couple of free-lancing opportunities to forward your way. They'll be in your inbox as soon as I can scan them in. Magazine articles, mostly. My assistant said I actually got some rejections in the mail while I was gone."

"Congratulations!"

"Thank you, thank you," he smirked. "I don't get them very often lately, but it's nice to know I'm still human."

"Yes, well, don't tell that to your fans -- they're convinced you're a sex god."

"So I've heard." He pulled out a fan letter and skimmed over it. "Who knew that little pamphlet on the female orgasm would gain so much attention?"

"Crazy, right? Especially with a male author. You're still getting some scathing reviews from feminists and the yahoos at Fox News."

"Oh, good, I'm so glad that I'm still considered important enough to be on their radar."

"Speaking of radars, how was your vacation?"

"It was wonderful, darling, but entirely too short." They chatted back and forth for a few more minutes before Loki interrupted. "Miranda, I'm sorry, but I have some things I need to catch up on. Will you get back to me on that contract for Shirley?"

"Absolutely, I'll fax it over as soon as it's ready and we can set up a face-to-face with her sometime within the month."

"You're amazing."

"Not half as amazing as you."

Loki snorted. "Have a good day, darling!"

"You, too."

The call with Miranda had lifted his spirits some, and he transformed back into his usual visage before leaving the office. The penthouse living area was empty, so he headed for the elevator. Once he stepped in, he said, "JARVIS, I need to go and look at the arc reactor for Tony."

"Very good, Sir," JARVIS replied, starting the elevator's downward descent. "Mr. Stark has given you unlimited authorization to the lower levels."

Loki's eyebrow quirked upward. "Unlimited, huh? I suppose that shows he trusts me. Who else has access to the lower levels?"

"While there are five individuals with limited access to the lower levels, the only two individuals with unlimited access are you and Mr. Stark."

"Well, then." Loki grinned to himself before getting back to business. "Have those other individuals been to the lower levels in the past two weeks?"

"No, Sir."

"The past month?"

"No, Sir. Other than Mr. Stark, the lower levels have not been accessed by any authorized personnel in the past three point four months."

Loki nibbled on his thumbnail thoughtfully. "So, unless they used something that was slow-acting three months ago, it shouldn't have been tampered with while we were gone. Which is ridiculous anyway, because he would presumably trust those five people with his life. Unless _they_ have been tampered with."

"Mr. Stark had deduced as much this morning."

Loki ran a hand through his hair. "Too many variables." He chuckled. "I've been hanging around Tony too long; I'm starting to sound like him."

When the elevator finally reached the bottom level, Loki stepped out and went through the routine security protocols -- including a scan of his hand and retina, which made him think of that one time in Germany -- before he was allowed into the room that housed the giant arc reactor that powered the entire Tower. It was breathtaking both in size and shining blue brilliance. He had only seen pictures and diagrams, but never the actual thing, in-person. After a quick glance around the room, he stood by the safety rail, staring up at the device.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and opened the channels to his magic, trusting that over his eyes to tell him exactly what was in the room and where. It painted a picture against the darkness in his mind, the arc reactor still a buzzing brilliant blue. He ignored it for now in favor of mapping out the rest of the room, searching for any signs that the structural integrity had been compromised from Tony's standard of absolute perfection. There was nothing along the walls or in the empty spaces around the reactor that implied any problems, so he finally turned his attention back to the reactor itself.

He frowned slightly as his magic scanned around the great glass and metal structure that housed it -- still, there were no outside signs of tampering. But once he moved his attention inward, he detected a subtle shifting that ran counter to the otherwise structured, predictable movement of the arc reactor's energy field. In his mind's eye it appeared as a flash of color. It was weak. Just the smallest, tiny fluctuation caught in the big blue swirl of energy. For now, the energy was working around it, mostly unfazed. Given the fact that it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place, he wondered how would it affect the reactor in the long term.

Loki's brow furrowed as he opened his eyes, knowing where to look but unable to physically see the obstruction. Now that he knew there was something there he was back to the question of how did it get onto the reactor in the first place? He reached out with his hand, cautiously directing his magic toward the glass case. The moment he tried to push beyond, into the reactor, it was whipped away by the energy of the element inside. He pushed a little harder, to no avail.

With a sigh, Loki lowered his arm, his eyes scanning over the reactor again. "JARVIS?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Where is Tony, now?"

"He is in his workshop. Shall I inform him that you wish to speak with him?"

"Yes, I'll be there shortly." Loki was still frowning to himself as he closed his eyes and gave the reactor one more brush over with his senses. The disturbance was still there, unchanged. Finally, he turned on his heel and walked back to the elevator, still perturbed by his inability to solve the problem.

 

 

Tony was picking through the military contracts from Pepper when Loki entered the workshop, he glanced up at him, noticing the dark look. "What's wrong?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, I'm just thinking." Loki walked behind Tony's chair and wrapped his arms around the inventor. "I went and checked out the reactor for you. I found something."

"You did?" Tony sat up straighter and turned to face him. 

Loki held up a finger as if to tell him to wait. "Nothing that you could have found on your own. I used my energy to find it. It's within the reactor itself."

"How can that be?"

"I don't know. I tried using my magic to penetrate the reactor, but I didn't want to risk knocking it even more out of balance than it is, already."

"Does it seem like it's a natural by-product of the reactor, or--"

"No, that's just it. I can tell it's not a natural part of the reactor's energy, or of the element powering it. I'm going to have to keep an eye on it for you and try my own experiments, if you'll let me."

"Of course I'll let you. What do you need to do?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just to shut the reactor down completely."

Tony laughed. "Good one!"

Loki's face hadn't changed, giving Tony pause.

"You're serious?"

"Unfortunately." Loki shrugged. "Other than forcing my magic in, I'm not sure what else to do aside from turning the reactor off."

Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "If that's what we have to do, then I guess we won't have a choice. Whatever it is, it's wearing at the reactor and causing it to become unstable. And nobody likes a potentially unstable power source."

"Exactly," Loki agreed. "I'm especially concerned about how it -- whatever _it_ is -- got in there in the first place. I couldn't find any weak spots or evidence of tampering. Everything seems solid. Which leads me to my next question."

"Who has authorization to be there?" Tony guessed.

"I spoke with JARVIS -- he said there are five others allowed to access the lower levels, but that no one's been down there in three months. And I went through the security checkpoints myself, so I know there's no way around them."

Tony patted Loki's arm. "That's my boy. I knew I kept you around for your brain as well as your body."

Loki smirked. "Don't change the subject."

"I'm not trying to." Tony slid his chair to the side, bringing up a digital screen. "Here's the activity log for the arc reactor's room. As you can see, the only ones who have been down there are us, Pepper, Rhodey, and Bruce. The other two persons with authorization haven't even been in there, yet."

"And who are they?" Loki asked, scrolling through the screen.

"Thor," Tony said, shrugging, "I figured if it ever needs a jump start, the God of Thunder should be able to take care of it."

Loki rolled his eyes. "And?"

"Fury."

Loki's expression became icy. "Come again, Tony?"

Tony wanted to make a crack at Loki's question, but thought better of it, clearing his throat. "Director Fury of SHIELD. You know, just in case?"

"Don't you think that's a very, very unsafe idea?"

"Yes. But he doesn't know he has authorization, and I would rather he find out by accident than have to take it by force."

Loki threw his hands up in the air and turned away from Tony.

"Hey, don't be mad," Tony said, trying to grab Loki's arm.

Loki slipped out of his fingers. "Tony, you know how I feel about Fury on a personal level, nevermind on a security level."

"Yes, I do. I also know that if worst ever comes to worst, Fury is one of our strongest allies for our security."

"I don't like it." Loki still wouldn't look at Tony and kept his arms folded across his chest. "But it's your Tower and your technology, you can do what you want with it."

"Loki," Tony tried to turn him around. "Please don't be like this. It's not like he can just walk in here and own the place -- I have security protocols set up to prevent that, and you know it."

Loki turned his head enough to glare at him. "There's nothing you can say to convince me that this is a good idea, so just drop it."

Tony raised his hands in a sign of surrender. "Fine. But you can't hold it against me and be a grump all night about it."

Loki rolled his eyes again. "I don't know what you're talking about," he sighed.

Tony grabbed hold of Loki's belt and pulled him onto his lap, kissing his cheek. He decided to change the subject, "How'd the call with Shirley go?"

Loki shrugged. "It wasn't terribly exciting. She yelled at me and tried to talk to me about the next book, and I told her to fuck off."

"By 'fuck off,' you mean, 'go talk to Miranda'?"

"Yes." The corner of Loki's mouth quirked upward.

"See?" Tony poked at that corner of Loki's mouth and then nuzzled his cheek. "I know you."

"I talked to Miranda, too. She had nothing but good things to say."

"Good." Tony kissed his way from Loki's ear down his neck. "I'm glad things are going so well for you."

"Thank you." Loki nodded in the direction of the papers on Tony's workbench. "What are you working on?"

Tony sighed and spun them around to pick up the contracts. "Pepper's trying to talk me into taking on some military contracts, again. Not weapons stuff but tech stuff. I told her I'd look at them."

Loki took the first one and skimmed through it. "Is there a particular reason why?"

"She seems to think it'll get the board off my back and keep people happy," Tony paused and raised his voice into a high falsetto, "'without compromising your ethics,' she said."

Loki snorted. "Smart woman," he murmured, flipping through the pages. "I don't see the harm in it."

"I'd rather not associate with the military at all. I like my private gigs."

"I know you do, love, but a job is a job. Isn't that what you used to tell me when I started writing?"

"Yes, but now we get to pick and choose what jobs we take. We're in the big leagues, now."

"I hardly think publishing a few books and articles classifies me as being 'big league.'"

Tony snaked a hand down Loki's waist to his crotch. "Can I play with _your_ big league?"

Loki chuckled and slapped Tony on the head with the contract. "Not until you finish your homework."

"Aww, but Daddy," whined Tony, "I wanna play."

" _No_ ," Loki insisted, pushing Tony's hand away. "And you know I despise age play."

Tony snickered and quickly kissed Loki's cheek again before the god squirmed out of his lap. "Fine, fine, I'll get this done and meet you upstairs in a bit, okay?"

Loki turned and leaned in close to Tony's ear, whispering, "Don't be long," before capturing the shell and sucking hard.

Tony groaned and weakly shoved at Loki. "You're mean."

Loki danced away with a glint in his eyes. "God of Mischief, remember?"

"Yeah, don't remind me," Tony waved him off, turning back to his workdesk as the elevator closed. He sighed and straightened the papers, starting with the contract on top. "This is going to take forever," he whined and tried to focus on it, rather than on his raging hard-on. He paused to grumble, "Dammit Loki," under his breath before buckling down and getting to work.


	4. Projects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki and Tony work on the reactor and have sex, then things go to hell.

"Alright, I'm going to throttle her back a little bit at a time," Tony said, adjusting the controls for the Tower's arc reactor. "You do what you need to do, so long as it doesn't break the glass. You should have enough room to get some magic in there."

Loki nodded, preparing himself and his magic for their first experiment.

It was several days after his first investigation of the reactor before they decided on this first plan of attack. While it wouldn't involve cutting off the reactor completely, the staff of the Tower had been warned that there may be some glitches in the power, today. Several of the unusued floors and offices had their power cut off, just to help conserve the energy.

The consistent hum of the reactor changed as Tony dialed down the power. "Ready when you are."

Loki raised his hands, concentrating on pushing his energy through the glass without breaking it. There was still too much resistance when the tendril of magic attempted to snake into the reactor, and he shook his head.

"Okay," Tony said, adjusting it again.

Some of the resistance lifted. Loki pushed harder, allowing the magic to follow along the natural flow of the reactor's energy. He still lost control of it. "It's getting better," he reported to Tony. "Just turn it down a little more."

Tony obliged, then added, "I can turn it down a little more if you need to, but I'd rather not if I don't have to."

Loki nodded. "I know. Let me try once more." He pushed again, keeping better control of his magic as it passed through the maelstrom of energy. Finally, his magic brushed against the unknown substance within the reactor, and bounced off of it. Frowning, he tried to reach it again, letting his magic encircle it -- only to be repelled again. He muttered a curse under his breath.

"What is it?" Tony spoke up.

Loki turned to Tony, his face dour. "It's magic."

Tony stared at him incredulously. "What? How can that be?"

"I don't know." Loki pushed his magic back into the reactor, poking and prodding mercilessly at the foreign energy, to no avail. "I can't get it out or neutralize it -- it bucks my energy right off."

"So, what does this mean? Loki?"

Loki scowled, shaking his head. "It means it's stronger magic than mine, which may explain how it could have gotten in without leaving a trace."

Tony was still staring at Loki in shock. "Love, I hate to tell you this, but no one on our roster has more powerful magic than you do."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Loki snapped. "Obviously someone has been able to get in and out without setting off JARVIS or your security protocols -- if they were even here, at all."

"You think someone could have done this from a distance?"

Loki ran his fingers through his own hair before gripping and pulling. "I don't know. I suppose it's possible, though unlikely with the reactor running at full capacity. Is there anything in the logs -- anything at all -- that indicates a time when the reactor was running at this power level or lower?"

Tony shook his head. "No, it hasn't run at this level or lower since I set it up, and there were no signs of these fluctuations when it started. It was perfect." Turning back to the controls, he asked, "Is it getting worse, yet? Can you tell?"

Loki closed his eyes, studying the reactor in his mind's eye, again. "I can't tell, yet. It looks and feels the same. Have you noticed anything in your data?"

"No." 

Loki opened his eyes and sighed. "I don't know where to go from here."

"Well, pull out, if you haven't already, and I'll get this baby back up to speed. We'll regroup and think of something else."

Loki nodded, recalling his magic back to himself before shaking the excess off of his hands. Seeing this, Tony turned the controls back to their normal positions. He stepped away from them, going to Loki and putting a hand on the small of the god's back. "Don't let it get to you."

"I can't help it," Loki grumbled. "The thought of a more powerful magic user targeting your reactor... I'm displeased."

Tony's reply was dripping with sarcasm, "Really? I couldn't tell. But getting ugly about it isn't going to solve the problem. We need to take a break, do some research, have lunch, and then we'll figure it out."

Loki sighed, turning and heading for the elevator when Tony's hand on his wrist stopped him. "What?" he snapped.

Tony grabbed Loki's hair with his free hand and pulled him down to his level. "Don't you take that tone with me, Mister. I'll kick your ass."

Loki rolled his eyes, pulling against Tony's hold. "Tony, I am not in the mood for your games."

"Well, good, because I'm not playing." Tony tugged at Loki's hair, causing the god to growl. Loki swiped at him, and Tony dodged deftly. Tony didn't, however, notice the foot that came out and tripped him, sending them both sprawling to the floor. They wrestled for dominance for several moments, until they were each panting from the exertion. Loki let Tony come out on top, the man sitting on Loki's hips and pinning him to the floor with a hand around Loki's throat. "Do you give?" Tony asked.

Loki swallowed and nodded.

"Good boy." Tony leaned down and kissed him. "You did fine, love. Without you and your magic, I never would have gotten this far. So don't be so hard on yourself."

"I can't help it," Loki repeated, trying to rub noses with Tony but the hand at his throat held him down.

"Yes, you can. I insist." Tony loosened his grip, tracing his nails down Loki's neck and making the god shudder. "You know, we haven't had sex since you got back from the cabin?"

Loki shrugged. "I tend not to keep track of the days between our romps, no."

"Well, it's true," Tony leaned down again, planting full kisses on Loki's lips. "We've been so busy the last few days, and now we finally have time to ourselves."

Loki shivered, placing a hand on Tony's chest and gently pushing him away. "Not down here."

Tony looked hurt. "Why not?"

"It's the light," Loki said, not meeting his gaze. He raised his hand, showing Loki how the light from the reactor tinted his pale skin blue. "It reminds me of..." he trailed off.

"Your other form?" Tony supplied. Loki nodded, and Tony captured the god's hand, kissing each of Loki's knuckles and fingers. "I think it makes you look beautiful, but I'm a bit biased."

Loki sighed, this time with just a little bit of pleasure at the attention. "That, you are."

"Are you sure you won't stay? Just think, it's the one place in the Tower where we can be truly alone, and not have to worry about phones or people barging in." Tony nibbled and licked at a finger, sucking it into his mouth.

Loki hummed to himself, thinking it over. "Tempting," he murmured.

Tony released the finger, instead dipping his head in to nip along Loki's neck. Loki turned his head, giving the inventor better access, and moaned when Tony bit down. He squirmed against him, overcome with a wash of heat over his body, and his hands buried themselves in Tony's hair. Tony growled softly against the flesh between his teeth. Loki growled back, gripping Tony's hair tightly but without pulling him away. Tony released him, then, lapping his tongue against the new mark on Loki's neck. He smirked in Loki's face, his head cocked to one side. "Your choice, babe, here or upstairs. But I will have you before the day is out."

"Since you already have me down here, you'd better finish what you started." Loki snarled and grabbed Tony's throat with one hand, pulling him in for a brutal kiss. Tony weakly kissed back, unable to breathe around the crushing pressure, and his eyes started to go glassy before Loki's grip finally let up. 

Tony panted softly, leaning his forehead against Loki's. "Fuck," he breathed.

"That's the general idea, yes." Loki tugged insistently against the hem of Tony's black T-shirt, pulling it over the inventor's head and tossing it away. His fingers came down along Tony's chest, massaging the muscles and scar tissue around Tony's arc reactor. A brief spark of emotion -- and he would never name it fear -- caused him to pause there, checking over the smaller reactor with his magic. There was no sign of the same magical energy that he'd found in the large-scale reactor, and he breathed out heavily.

Tony followed Loki's gaze to his chest, then looked him in the eye. "What?"

"Nothing," Loki said with a shake of his head. "Just checking."

Tony nodded knowingly. "I'm okay. I had JARVIS check me over the day we got back."

"I needed to be sure."

Tony leaned in and kissed him again, tenderly. "I love you. You know that, right?"

The corner of Loki's mouth quirked upward. "I do. And I adore you."

Rather than the heated rough-and-tumble fucking they usually enjoyed, they took their time, losing clothes a piece at a time, worshipping each other's body with lips and tongues and gentle touches -- with just the slightest hint of nails scraping along long planes of skin. Loki writhed beneath Tony, who took his time enjoying the beauty of his lover lit in the blue light of the reactor. "Gorgeous," he murmured against Loki's thigh, kissing it.

"Flatterer," Loki accused, massaging Tony's scalp with his fingers.

"It's true," Tony insisted. "I'd love you even if you looked like the Hulk."

Loki couldn't help but chuckle. "I somehow doubt that."

"You'll just have to take my word on it, then." Tony licked his way up Loki's leg, then turned his head to place a kiss at the base of Loki's cock. Loki moaned as Tony continued planting kisses along his length. His fingers flexed and tightened in Tony's hair as the inventor's mouth engulfed him suddenly. "Ahh, Tony..."

"Hmm?"

Loki hissed and couldn't help the little buck of his hips at the humming. "You're an evil, evil man," he said through gritted teeth.

Tony smirked around Loki's cock in his mouth. "Mmhmm."

When Tony's finger slipped inside of Loki and started rubbing along the god's prostate, Loki cursed him again as his back arched up off the floor. Tony moaned around Loki's length, even as the god pulled his head up and off of it. Loki looked into his eyes and whispered, "Take me?"

"Of course," Tony murmured in reply. Loki's hands pulled him up into a kiss before finally letting go, stroking up and down Tony's neck and chest.

Tony reached for his pants and pulled out a small bottle of lubricant and a rag he kept in his back pocket -- ever wanting to be prepared for impromptu couplings. Loki looped his legs over Tony's shoulders and pulled himself closer to the inventor. Tony slicked up his length before sliding his fingers inside of Loki, quickly stretching and preparing him. Loki shuddered as Tony pushed his cock inside him.

"Does it hurt?" Tony asked.

"No," Loki moaned, "it feels exquisite."

Tony smirked, pushing in a little further before drawing back, taking his time to bury himself in Loki's heat. "I wish you could see yourself," Tony said, wrapping his palm around Loki's dick. "You are so hot like this."

Loki bucked into Tony's hand, a flush coming across his cheeks. "I'm glad you think so."

"Maybe I should record it and show you some time?"

Loki smiled softly but shook his head. "No, thank you. I'll just have to trust you, and hope that I look half as hot as you do, right now."

It was Tony's turn to smile. "Now, who is the flatterer?"

They moved together like this for several moments, the sounds of flesh-on-flesh and pleasured moans lost in the constant hum of the giant reactor. Tony picked up the pace, jerking Loki's dick in short, quick movements that made the god's eyes roll back. "Tony..."

"Loki," Tony said, shifting his position to lean over Loki, pushing the god's knees to his shoulders. "Come for me, babe, don't hold back."

Loki keened in his throat, muscles going tense and taut as he came, painting his abdomen with sticky white stripes. Tony groaned on top of him, whispering, "Yeah, that's it, baby. God, you look so hot when you come. Such a good boy." His breath caught and he threw his head back as his climax hit, dumping his load deep inside of Loki.

After a quick clean up with the rag, Tony flopped against the floor beside Loki, who curled up to use Tony as a body pillow. Tony reached up and played with Loki's hair while the god traced Tony's chest scars with a finger. They stayed like that for quite some time, enjoying each other's company in silence.

 

"Did you remember that I have a writing conference coming up?" Loki asked Tony at the supper table that night.

"You have a writing conference coming up?" Tony looked like a deer in the headlights. 

Loki smirked, taking another bite of his chicken alfredo.

"It must have slipped my mind," Tony answered. "Are you going to be presenting or just hob-nobbing with celebrities?"

Loki snorted, shaking his head. "Maybe next year. Mostly, I'm hoping to hide in the crowd and see if anyone has anything new to teach me. I want to up my game, so I have to find out what the current rules are, or some such."

"If you're going as William, I think you're going to have a difficult time of hiding." Tony pointed his fork at Loki. "No magicking yourself away in public."

"Thank you, I am well aware of _those_ rules."

Tony wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I think it's a great idea, though, staying on top of everything in the writing world. Everything changes so fast. It's the same with my technology conferences. So, when is it?"

"In two weeks." Loki paused, setting his fork down. "I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

Tony winced. "Have you asked Pepper?"

"Why, is she your keeper?"

"Not for permission, jackass; she's the keeper of my schedule -- you know that."

Loki nodded, then spoke, "JARVIS, what's on Tony's schedule in two weeks from tonight?"

"Mr. Stark has numerous appointments for Stark Industries," JARVIS replied. "These were all scheduled prior to your scheduling of the writer's conference."

Loki shrugged. "Well, then. I guess that answers that."

"You should have told her sooner," Tony suggested. "I can ask her if any of those can be postponed, but--"

"Don't worry about it," Loki insisted. "It was just a thought."

Tony frowned. "You're disappointed."

Loki's eyes flashed as he regarded Tony cooly. "It would be a lie to say I'm not, but it is also not the end of the world."

"I hate disappointing you."

Loki waved him off. "Oh, stop it. It's a fact of life. I will get over it, I promise."

"If you say so." Tony sipped his scotch, still eyeing Loki warily. "At least try to have fun while you're there, okay? Make some friends, play nice with the other children?"

The god snorted and shook his head, a mischievous glint in his eye. "I will try my best to have a good time, but I make no promises about playing nice."

"That's my boy."

 

They didn't see much of each other over the next couple weeks. Tony was whisked off on a whirlwind tour of his other Stark Industries locations and side projects outside of New York, leaving Loki to roam the penthouse alone. While he was free to come and go as he pleased, he preferred the quiet to the bustling streets, engine exhaust, and constant noise of the city. Thor stayed with him, in his own quarters, and tried to convince Loki to go outside for more than just a few quick walks. Instead, Loki sent him on errands to Asgard to gather books and information on magic.

Though Stark boasted that his own private search engine was more powerful and comprehensive than Google, there just wasn't enough viable information on the types of magic Loki was searching for. What Thor brought back from Asgard wasn't much help, either, but Loki wasn't about to go back there for any reason. Ever.

He sighed as he snapped shut one of the dusty tomes Thor had smuggled to Earth. He was no closer to solving the problem with the reactor. While JARVIS kept him up-to-date on the energetic fluctuations, Loki had gone down to the reactor daily to ensure that the problem wasn't growing or changing. Without being able to quantify it, it seemed to be staying the same.

With the conference just two days away, he received an emergency visit from Pepper. "Loki," she said, "I need you to come with me."

"What? Why?" His heart lept in his chest, jumping to all sorts of conclusions, but he did his best to ignore it and remain level-headed.

"I'll tell you on the way." She gave him a once-over. "It's a good thing you're always dressed so nice. You'll impress the board members."

"Board... members? Wait, no," Loki held his hands up and shook his hands. "No, no, no, I have no right to be ther--"

"You do as of five minutes ago," Pepper said, handing him a memo. "The members called an emergency meeting, and since Mr. Stark can't be there in-person, you will be going as his proxy."

Loki grit his teeth, but took the paper and followed her to the elevator. "Me? Or William?"

"William, sorry," she said distractedly.

"Good, because as I've told him before, it wouldn't do for him to have a war criminal as his COO." Loki snarled, "I don't like it. I told him I didn't want to become involved with his company, and I meant it."

"I know, Loki," Pepper murmured, swiping at information on her Stark Pad. "I swear, we wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

"I don't see how it's necessary at all."

Pepper looked him in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

Loki was taken aback. "Yes."

"And do you trust Tony?"

"Well, yes."

"Then you need to trust us both, now, when I tell you that it _is_ necessary." Pepper glanced up at the floor indicator on the elevator and jestured to him. "You need to change your face, we're almost there."

Loki snorted and complied, easily slipping into William Hiddlesworth's features. Pepper was staring at him, and he gave her his signature smile. "Yes? Something on my face?"

"That's kind of creepy to watch, to be honest," she murmured.

"I'm sorry?" he offered.

Pepper walked him from the elevator to the conference room. "Whatever happens, just play it cool," Pepper instructed him. "Tony trusts you to make the right decisions and to keep things under control."

"Whatever happened to those contracts you were having him look at?"

"Oh, he followed through on them," she replied, wrinkling her nose, "but the board isn't satisfied. Thus, the meeting."

"Awesome," Loki sighed. He went to run his hand through his hair and made a face when he realised it was curly. "So, as long as I don't agree to start World War III, I should be okay?"

"In theory."

Loki groaned, placing his hand on the door knob. "No pressure."

"No pressure," Pepper agreed, patting his shoulder. "Good luck."

With another sigh, Loki steeled himself and opened the door, sauntering in like he -- well, his lover -- owned the place. "Gentlemen," he said in greeting, holding his hands out in front of him.

"And who are you?" asked one portly gentleman at the front of the room.

"My name is William Hiddlesworth," Loki introduced himself, folding his hands together, "and I will be serving as Tony Stark's proxy this afternoon. Thank you so much for your invitation. It's a shame that it arrived with such short notice, otherwise I'm sure Mr. Stark would have been here, himself." 

"Yes," one of the other board members shifted uncomfortably, "we were wondering if he would be back from his trip in time to make it. How fortunate that he named a proxy in his place."

"How convenient," the first muttered, gesturing for Loki -- as William -- to sit down.

The men went about their business like Loki wasn't even there, and he listened intently as they behaved themselves, not bringing up anything of apparent consequence. There was some discussion of old business, some of which Loki remembered Tony telling him about. When they put an issue to a vote, he participated, much to the consternation of the other board members. No one spoke up against him, and the motion passed.

Things seemed to be wrapping up when the first man -- Johnson, Loki had learned -- spoke up, "Our final order of business for the day is the matter of the project from last week's meeting. Now, I believe we were attempting to come to a consensus on whether or not we should proceed. As this is technically old business, we can put it to a vote, today."

"Excuse me," Loki interrupted, "which project are you speaking of?"

Johnson's long-suffering sigh was his only reply, until another board member -- Mr. Reed -- spoke up. "It's the Asher Project," he said. "It would give Stark Industries the opportunity to work with the United States military on an on-going basis for the purpose of peacekeeping. That's all it is, but the vote must be one of consensus."

"That's all very vague," Loki said. "Do you have any specifics on this project?"

The man passed Loki a packet, and the god flipped through the pages, quickly skimming them over. He frowned. The packet was as vague as the explanation had been. "So, what exactly does this mean?"

"It means just as Reed said," Johnson snapped.

"I don't like it," Loki murmured, ignoring the man. He flipped through the pages some more. Nothing seemed out of place or raised any immediate red flags -- nothing mentioning weapons manufacturing or anything that Tony was obviously against. But his gut was telling him not to trust these people, and he tossed the packet back onto the table. "Has there been a motion to vote?"

The other men went through the motions of calling a vote, and Loki was decidedly outnumbered when he voted, "Nay."

"Do you really think Mr. Stark would agree with your vote?" Johnson asked.

"It doesn't matter." Loki glared at him. "I'm acting on his behalf, as you've let me for the past hour, so why shouldn't my vote count now?"

There were murmurings and grumblings among the other board members, and they were quickly silenced by Loki's icy stare.

"We may have to review the by-laws and rules before we can say for sure that the motion has been passed," Reed supplied meekly. "Just to be sure that everything is in order."

Loki rolled his eyes. "You're stalling," he accused.

"I'm being thorough," Reed countered. "We will contact everyone with the results and the notes from today's meeting. Meeting adjourned."

Loki waited for the other men to file out of the conference room before he stood and walked to the door. He watched some of the men glance over their shoulders at him as they walked away, whispering to each other. His face was stony as he walked back to the elevator. His phone rang -- it was Tony. "Tony?"

"Hey, babe," came Tony's voice. "How are things going?"

"I just got out of the meeting."

"What meeting?"

"Pepper didn't call you?" Loki paused, biting his lip. "There was an emergency board meeting. I was told I'd been named as your proxy."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Tony?"

"Let me call you back." The line clicked off.

Loki stared at the phone in his hand. The feeling of unease that had been in his stomach since the vote was growing. He didn't dare to slip back into his normal features until he was safely in the penthouse -- Thor was there, lounging on a sofa and watching the television. "Brother!" The blonde's grin quickly faded as he regarded Loki carefully. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Loki said truthfully, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He sighed and slumped into a chair, resting his chin in his hand. "I'm really tired of thinking I'm doing the right thing, only to have it come 'round to bite me in the ass."

"You sound tired," Thor commented. "Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like some water? Or wine?"

Loki smirked at him. "I'm fine for right now, but thank you." He reached for his Stark Pad on the living room table and set it in his lap, fiddling around with it. "JARVIS, where is Tony, anyway?"

"He appears to be on his way back to New York from Chicago, Sir."

"On a plane or in his Iron Man suit?"

"He is still on his private jet, at present."

Loki chewed on the inside of his lip. "Well, at least that's a good sign, somewhat."

"Why is that?" Thor asked.

"If he were racing back here in his Iron Man suit, then that would be a potentially bad sign."

"Loki, what did you do?"

Loki sighed and explained how Pepper had come to him in a hurry and hustled him downstairs to the board meeting. He didn't go into specifics about the meeting itself. He finished with Tony's cryptic phone call and how he'd hung up on him. "So, I don't _know_ that I've done _anything_ except what I was told. But it's not like Tony to react in such a way."

Thor nodded, watching his brother carefully. "You're afraid."

"What?"

Thor gestured to him. "Your bouncing knee, the way you're gnawing at your lip, your expression... and you're shaking."

Loki stopped each quirk as Thor pointed them out, and then held up his hand, watching it exhibit the slightest of tremors. He scowled and tightened in on himself further. "I am not afraid. What have I to fear?"

"What, indeed." Thor shrugged, turning back to the TV.

It was several minutes before Loki's phone rang again, the caller ID coming up as Pepper. He sighed and answered it, "Hello, Pepper."

"Hi, Loki," she said, "I just talked to Tony."

"Oh, good, do you want to explain what's going on?"

He heard Pepper sigh. "Look, I'm just as in the dark about Tony's attitude as you are. We followed the protocols he'd set in place a long time ago. He shouldn't be getting snappy about it."

"He got snappy? Because all I got was the silent treatment before he hung up on me."

"He was none too pleased about you acting as his proxy. He insisted that he could have telephoned into the meeting, but when I'd tried to reach him, he was busy and I couldn't get through. We did what we could. You're going to have to make him see that."

Loki groaned, leaning back in his chair until he was looking at the ceiling. "He's pissed, isn't he?"

"You could say that."

"Pepper..."

"I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't mean for him to get upset, but you may have to bear some of his ire until he gets his head out of his ass."

"What about the meeting itself?" he asked. "The other members -- Reed and Johnson -- they weren't too pleased with my being there, and they'll be going over the Rules of Order with a fine-toothed comb."

"Don't worry about it."

Loki gritted his teeth. "What aren't you telling me?"

There was a pause before Pepper spoke again, "You were a diversion. Who knows what they would have brought up in the meeting if you hadn't been there. So even if your votes don't count, you were an active listener. They knew you would report back to Tony on how it went."

"And you couldn't have told me this before I went in there?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I did ask you to trust me."

Loki's lips formed a straight line as he thought about it a moment. His phone beeped again and he glanced at it. "Tony is calling. I'll talk to you, again, soon."

"Okay, Loki. Good bye."

He hung up on her and switched the line over to Tony. "I just spoke with Pepper," he said as an introduction.

Tony huffed angrily in the receiver. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he growled.

"Yes, so I gathered," Loki replied. "What happens now?"

"For now, you stay the fuck upstairs where those men can't see you."

Loki's eyes narrowed. "Excuse me? 

"They weren't supposed to know about you unless it was an absolute emergency -- which this wasn't. You were supposed to be my secret weapon, in case I ever needed you."

"Well, nobody told _me_ this," Loki shot back. "Do you think I really wanted to do it? I only did it because Pepper had me convinced it was what you wanted."

Tony swore and Loki heard crashing noises on the other end, presumably from something metal being kicked or punched. "What did they talk about?"

"Old business, things you've spoken to me about and things that didn't seem at all interesting. And then they brought up the Asher Project."

Tony went silent again, then there was another crashing sound.

"Tony, please," Loki's voice was soft. "What's wrong?"

"The Asher Project is their little nickname for the weapons manufacturing contract."

"But Tony, I looked over the paperwork from Reed -- it said nothing--"

"I know, I know what it says, I've been through it a thousand times already," Tony cut him off, "but that's because they're being sneaky about it. Did you notice how vague it was?"

"Yes."

"Then how did you vote?"

"I voted against it, of course."

"Good." Tony paused and growled again, "Of course, it probably won't matter once they figure out that you weren't supposed to be there in the first place. Fuck!"

Loki looked pained, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "That's what I was afraid of. Pepper says that I was meant as a distraction to keep them from bringing up anything weird."

"Yeah, well, they chose the perfect day to bring up the Asher Project, didn't they?" From the sounds of it, Tony was pacing on the plane. "Fuck... that paperwork had better be airtight, or the board members will have a field day."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Loki tried.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it, right now."

"What was I supposed to do?" Loki raised his voice.

"Say no!"

_"Tony!_ I did say no! Several times, in fact! She convinced me that it was necessary, that I was supposed to trust the two of you!"

Tony swore again and the line went dead.

Loki stared at his phone a moment before chucking it into the nearest wall, where it fell to the floor in pieces. He rubbed at his forehead with one hand, staring at the floor. It was several minutes before he spoke softly, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that."

Thor's eyes flitted back and forth between his brother and the TV. "There was not much to hear," he said. "Though it sounds like Tony is quite angry."

Loki didn't respond.

"He will cool off," Thor spoke again. "Do not let his anger get the better of you, brother."

Loki was chewing his lips again as he stood suddenly and walked to the bar. "Do you want some wine? I'm suddenly thirsty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Loki has odaxelagnia -- (n.) Sexual arousal from biting or being bitten. The more you know!


	5. Conventional Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which technology gets thrown around, Loki heads to Boston and meets an old flame, and then they share a bed together.

By the time Tony returned to the Tower, Loki was slightly inebriated and Thor was worried. Tony came in through the elevator and tossed his jacket on the nearest chair. He took a quick glance around the room and spotted Loki's phone, still in pieces at the base of a wall. "So that's why you wouldn't pick up," he grumbled.

"I figured our conversation was over," Loki offered from where he was leaning against the bar.

"Well, it wasn't, but we can continue it, now. Thor, if you'll excuse us?"

Thor looked torn, glancing between Tony and Loki before nodding and heading for the elevator. "Call me if you need anything," he said over his shoulder.

"Good night," Loki said, raising his glass to his brother before downing the last of his wine.

Tony pursed his lips together and crossed his arms. "You want to explain to me what happened?"

"You already know the whole story," Loki said. "Pepper barged in here and insisted I go with her to sit in on the board meeting as your proxy for the good of your company. I didn't want to do it, didn't like the idea, didn't want to have to participate, but did it all, anyway, because I thought I was doing what you wanted. Again, for the good of _your_ company."

"While I appreciate that you did what you thought was right," Tony said, "I don't like that you went against your gut instinct that told you not to do it in the first place."

"Again, what was I supposed to do?" Loki held his hands out in front of him. "We're very good at reading each other, but unless you have some latent telepathy or empathic ability you haven't shared, there was no way I could have known what your wishes were. I trusted Pepper."

"I'll be dealing with her later, you can be sure of that," Tony insisted. He came up and snatched Loki's wine glass away from him and placed it in the sink.

Loki's eyes narrowed. "I wasn't done with that."

"Well, I say you are."

"Who do you think you are?" Loki growled, drawing himself up to his full height so that he was looking down on Tony. "I do not take orders from you!"

"Yeah, well, maybe that's the problem -- you can't keep your own shit together, yet you don't seem to know who to take orders from."

Loki recoiled as if struck. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that you need me to tell you what to do -- from starting and taking the writing gigs, to learning how to drive and not get yourself killed, to not walking into a trap with my board members--"

"I don't _need_ you!" Loki hissed. His voice dropped to a whisper as he added, "I stay because I want to." His voice cracked just a bit on the next words, "And if I'm such a burden to you, then you can tell me to leave."

Tony scowled and pushed his fingers through his hair. "I'm not going to tell you to leave. And you're not a burden."

"Then what do you want me to do, Anthony?" Loki bit his lip. "Alright, yes, I'm asking you what to do right now because you won't let me apologize and I'm at a complete loss for words. I don't know how to fix this."

Tony raised his eyebrow at Loki. "There's nothing you can fix. I'll deal with the fallout from the meeting myself. I just want to make sure you and Pepper both know that this was a stupid call, and now my hand has been shown."

Loki let out a sad, barking laugh as he stared at his feet. "Once a pawn, always a pawn."

"Don't be like that."

Loki shook his head and started to walk away.

"Loki," Tony started, reaching for him.

Loki shook Tony off of him. "Let me be. I need to go and pack."

"Pack for what?"

In a sudden fit of rage, Loki picked up his Stark Pad and chucked it at Tony's head -- Tony caught it, shaking his hand in pain. " _Check the fucking calendar!_ " Loki yelled before stomping to their room.

Tony frowned and brought up the calendar on the Stark Pad. There he found the entry for the writer's conference. "Dammit." He set the tablet aside and followed after Loki into the bedroom. "Loki?"

Loki didn't look up from where he was carefully folding clothes and putting them into his suitcase.

"Come on, babe, talk to me," Tony pleaded, staying near the door so that Loki would have his space. "I'm sorry I forgot about the conference. It completely slipped my mind." When this didn't get a response, he added, "And I'm sorry I've been so harsh about the meeting. I'm just angry, but I'll get over it. Alright?"

He heard Loki sigh, but still didn't get a reply. He came into the room, cautiously reaching out for the god's arm. "Loki?"

Loki smacked his hand away, turning so Tony couldn't see his face as he gathered more items from his closet.

"Babe, I'm sorry," Tony apologized again. "You want to apologize? You can apologize if you want, I won't stop you."

Loki shook his head, still keeping his face hidden as he walked back to his suitcase.

"Honey?" Tony reached for Loki's shoulder and forced him to turn around. "Babe, you're crying."

"Fuck off," Loki hissed, swiping a hand at his eyes before wrenching around to finish packing.

"No." Tony stood behind Loki and wrapped his arms around the god's waist. "Please talk to me? This isn't like you."

"You're not yourself, either," Loki murmured. His hands twisted in a shirt and came to rest them on top of his stack of clothes. "You've never been like this. Not to me. I had hoped you were different."

"Loki." Tony nuzzled at Loki's neck. "I'm so, so sorry. It was just a fluke, I promise."

Loki shook his head, working around the embrace. "Let me go. Please? Just let me finish this."

"Alright," Tony agreed, letting go of Loki and backing up to give him room. "Can I stay?"

"Mm," Loki grunted, waving toward Tony's side of the bed. The inventor flopped there, watching Loki close the suitcase and set it aside. Tony patted the bed beside him, and Loki paused, as if thinking about it.

"Please?" Tony asked and held his hand out.

Loki finally relented, crawling in bed beside Tony, then curling up against him, nuzzling at his chest. Tony wrapped his arms around Loki and stroked his hair. "What brought this on?" Tony asked quietly.

"I didn't like the way you spoke to me on the phone," Loki admitted. "Like when you ordered me to stay up here in the penthouse like I'm some sort of child or common pet. I'm not a simpleton, Tony. I held my own. I was even polite. I did my best not to blow anything up in the board room."

"And then I had to go and blow up at you, huh? I'm sorry. I only wanted to protect you."

Loki shrugged. "I forgive you, Tony," he said, sounding tired. "Just stop ordering me around like I'm one of your robots."

"But sometimes you like it when I order you around, don't you?"

Loki's eyes were serious as he peered up at Tony. "Only in the bedroom."

Tony kissed the tip of Loki's nose. "Alright, only in the bedroom, then. I'll try to do better."

Loki rubbed his nose against Tony's with his eyes closed. "Thank you."

"Did you really think I would ask you to leave?"

Loki shrugged again, ducking his head down.

"Loki?"

"I don't want to talk about this," Loki said shakily, fingers tracing over Tony's arc reactor through his shirt. "Please don't make me talk about it."

"Alright, babe, I won't force you." Tony pressed a kiss into Loki's hair. "I love you."

Loki just curled up tighter against Tony.

"Do you still trust me?" Tony thought to ask. "Despite everything today?"

"Of c... yes," Loki replied.

Tony smirked. "Don't sound so sure, now." He continued stroking Loki's hair. "I can't say that I blame you. It's been a long day -- what do you say we grab a quick supper and turn in early?"

"I'm not terribly hungry," Loki said. 

"Fine. You get comfy and I'll grab a snack and we can cuddle in front of Face Off. How does that sound?"

"Okay," Loki acquiesced, curling up against a pillow as Tony slid out of bed.

Loki was quiet for the rest of the night.

 

The next day, Loki and Tony had said their goodbyes early because Tony had to meet with the board members and Loki was flying out so he could get settled into the hotel the night before the conference. "When you get back from your conference," Tony had said, "we'll do something together, just the two of us. Sound okay?"

Loki had nodded, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "We'll see. Don't move your schedule around if it won't allow for it."

"Please, love, I'm Tony Stark: I do what I want." Tony grinned and gently bapped Loki on the chin with his fist. The god returned the smile and leaned in for a soft kiss.

Getting through security had been a nightmare, what with the throng of passengers trying to herd their way from one end of the line to the other. The agents didn't give Loki -- disguised as William -- a second glance, and he finally made it to his gate. While Tony had offered the use of his private jet, Loki had insisted on keeping up his mortal disguise by travelling first class on a regular airplane. He worked as he traveled, not bothering to partake in the on-board snacks and beverages or entertainment. It was a short flight to Boston, but he'd managed to add more to his next book and start the notes for his freelancing projects.

The convention was being held at the Hynes Convention Center. He had opted for one of the cheaper rooms at the Lenox Hotel, and he took a taxi to get there from the airport. He took in the sights as they drove along the crowded streets -- he found that Boston was not terribly different from Manhattan, except that the streets curved and wove in odd directions, where in New York the streets were laid out in a grid. It wasn't long before he reached his destination, and he paid the cabbie his fare. The hotel itself was beautiful, inside and out, but to his delight he found that it was only a block away from the Boston Public Library. 

As he was settling into his hotel room, his newly repaired phone rang. "Hello, love," he said into the receiver.

"Hey, babe," came Tony's voice. "How was your trip?"

"Terribly boring." He hesitated. "How was your meeting?"

Tony snorted. "It was a clusterfuck. Too-long-didn't-read: your votes didn't count. Since your vote on the Asher Project didn't count, the motion passed."

Loki winced. "I'm sorry, love. I was really hoping I could help."

"Well, I think you did, in some small way. Pepper was right in that they didn't bring up any new business or anything sketchy. So, thank you, for that."

"You're welcome, for what little it's worth."

"We agreed to let this go, alright? So no kicking yourself over it anymore, okay?"

"I will attempt my best not to."

"You'd better, or I'll have to kick your ass when you get home."

It was Loki's turn to snort. "Anything new with the reactor?" he changed the subject.

"Not a thing. Still holding steady, other than the brief surges and blips we've been seeing these last couple of weeks."

"I plan to do more research when I get back," Loki said. "I may even check the library here in Boston, seeing as I am so close to the site of the notorious witch trials. Perhaps something will turn up there."

"You just want to check out the library, period."

Loki cracked a smile. "Well, yes."

"You have fun with that. Feel free to call whenever you feel like it; unless I'm in a meeting or welding something, I should pick up."

"Alright."

"Love you, babe."

"Good night, Tony."

 

As soon as Loki was done unpacking, he walked up the street to the library. There was still plenty of time to quickly peruse a few shelves before it closed for the night. He got down to business, using the catalog to search several keywords that might be of use. When that proved to be unfruitful, he used the map of the library to find the section of special and rare books on the third floor. He quickly browsed through the titles, thumbed through a couple of books, but ultimately turned up nothing of use. Frustrated, he snapped a book shut and slid it back into the correct slot on the shelf. It was then that he realized he was being watched.

"Yes?" he asked the woman. She was tall, thin, and beautiful -- a buxom blonde in a gray pin-striped power suit and red heels. Her green eyes were piercing as she stared at him, and the corners of her lips turned upwards in a soft smile.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, "you just look like someone I used to know."

He smiled back at her, adjusting William's glasses on his nose. "I get that a lot. My name is William. William Hiddlesworth." He offered her his hand.

She took it, and Loki paused a moment as a shiver went up his spine. "I know who you are," she said lowly. "Underneath your facade."

"A... Amora." Loki's lips pressed together in a thin line. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has." She finally released his hand. "What brings you to bonny Boston?"

"Writer's conference," he clipped, gesturing in the general direction of the convention center.

"Ahh," she said with a wide smile. "You fancy yourself a writer these days, hmm?"

"The mortals seem to appreciate my work, yes." He crossed his arms and leaned against the book shelf. "What are you doing here?"

Amora shrugged minutely. "Nothing of any consequence. You are aware that I've been banished to Midgard?"

"So I'd heard."

"Yes, well, I've been trying to make my own life for myself. I'm sure you can understand." She gave him a once-over. "Shall we get some tea at the little cafe downstairs and talk together?"

Loki gave her his own once-over as he considered it. "Alright," he finally agreed and they made their way to the Map Room Cafe. It looked like the cashiers were getting ready to close for the day, but Amora sweet-talked her way into getting a cup of tea for each of them. They settled in a corner of the room, Loki keeping his awareness open to the comings and goings of the people around them even as he nursed his tea cup.

"So," Amora drawled, "what's your story?"

"I don't really have one," he replied blandly.

"Oh, come now," Amora waved her hand at him, "you already know mine -- I tried to seduce Thor and kill his little lady friend and it all went horribly wrong. You tried to take over the world. What happened after that? Banishment?"

Loki shrugged, staring down into his tea. "Not exactly. I served my time in Asgard, was soundly punished for my deeds there and on Midgard, and then they found no further use for me. I had no further use for Asgard, so I came here, instead."

Amora hummed softly as she mulled this information over. "And where are you now? I haven't seen you around Boston."

"I'm in New York. Manhattan."

She chuckled. "Well, with that disguise, I suppose they couldn't help but let you go back there and stay. Are you on your own?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm living with a mortal. Thor keeps in touch and I see him occasionally." 

"A mortal, eh?" Amora's grin turned a bit too toothy. "How quaint. Who's the lucky woman?"

Loki rolled his eyes and took another long sip of his tea.

"A man, then?" Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Oh my, Loki! You never cease to surprise and amaze me. Does he know your true identity?"

"He does," Loki confirmed. "We get along quite well, most of the time."

She chuckled to herself some more, finishing her tea daintily. "Tell me -- I'm just dying to know -- do you still practice?"

He gave her a sharp look. No one else was paying them any attention, so he replied, "Yes, I still have my powers. What of it?"

"Oh, nothing," she said innocently, "I just know that mine have been significantly dampened since coming here, and I wondered if it was true for you, too?"

"I haven't noticed any changes in my abilities, no," he replied.

"I suppose that's good then. Well, Loki, if you ever need a familiar face to talk to, feel free to get in touch with me." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a business card, sliding it across the table to him. "We should catch up, share our tools of the trade -- like we used to." She winked.

Loki nibbled his bottom lip as he examined the card. "Actually..." he hesitated.

"Yes? What is it?"

"There is one thing I've been working on, something I'm experimenting with," he said before looking her in the eye. "Do you know if it's possible to send magic long distance?"

Amora tilted her head to one side, resting her chin on a well-manicured hand. "But of course it is -- if you've got the power to do it."

"Even if it means sending that magic through a lot of matter and solid objects?"

"Again, it depends on the amount of power you have behind it." She traced a finger over her lips. "It sounds like you're speaking of something specific. Do you want to share the details with me?"

"I'd rather not."

"Come now, Loki," Amora chided, "who am I going to tell? You're the first face from back home that I've seen in a very long time. I know of no other magic users -- at least none that compare to our level of expertise. Don't you trust me?"

Loki regarded her with a serious expression. "Is that a trick question?"

She grinned. "You're the Trickster -- you tell me."

He sighed, tapping his fingers against his tea cup. "What do you know of Midgardian power sources?"

"Very little."

"Well, there's one in particular that's underground, surrounded by concrete. It... it has an element that serves as the power source. Its energy field is like a giant maelstrom of magic -- nearly impenetrable. Somehow, there is a foreign bit of magic inside this giant storm that's not supposed to be there. I'm trying to figure out how it got there and how to get it out without shutting down the power source completely."

Amora raised her eyebrow. "That all sounds a lot more interesting than merely being a writer."

Loki shrugged it off. "It's for... my mortal. He deals with this power source for a living, and he asked for my help. That's what I found."

Amora looked contemplative, tracing her finger over her full, red lips. "I suppose it would be possible," she finally said, "but highly unlikely."

Loki sighed. "Then, I don't know how else to explain it."

"Loki," she murmured, putting her hand over one of his, "I'm sure you will figure it out. You're a brilliant sorcerer. Is this something that needs to be solved right away?"

He shook his head. "The sooner, the better, but for now it's stable."

"Then why not enjoy your little vacation and not worry about it, hmm?" She sat back in her chair. "The answer will come to you, in time. For now, take it easy -- go out and have a good time! Isn't that what your mortal would want for you?"

Loki snorted. "I think you and I have two completely different opinions of what a 'good time' entails."

"You used to be quite the fiend," she said suggestively, leaning forward so that her breasts practically brushed the table. "Why don't we go out and see what sort of trouble we can stir up?"

"As much fun as that sounds, I'm afraid I have to decline."

"Oh, don't tell me you've turned monogamous after all these millenia!" She huffed, throwing her hands in the air. "How _boring!_ "

"I didn't say anything about monogamy," Loki corrected. "I just intend to have a peaceful evening alone."

"Boring!" Amora repeated with another throw of her hands in the air.

Loki sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

She smiled sweetly at him. "You are just far too interesting to leave, at the moment. Come, take me back to your hotel so you can change your face and your clothes, and we'll be off."

 

They made a quick stop in the privacy of his hotel room for them to change outfits: Amora conjured more appropriate clubbing attire -- featuring a skin tight red and black patent leather bodice -- while Loki chose an all-black outfit he'd packed with him. Loki modified his visage to be more like his usual features, but just different enough to make people have to look twice. It wouldn't do to be recognized in public, even in Boston.

"Did you have any place in mind?" he asked.

Amora smiled and held out her hand. "Walk with me."

He took it and they walked toward the closed door of the hotel room, and they passed through it and came out into an empty alley way somewhere in the city. Loki followed along behind her, taking a quick stock of his surroundings as they walked out onto Boylston Street. It wasn't nearly as busy as some of the streets in Manhattan, and though it was starting to get dark, there were still people milling about, including panhandlers. They ignored everyone they passed, and nobody spared them a second glance.

Amora pulled him into a night club and they paid their cover fee to get in. The club was already filling up with dancers and bar patrons, and the DJ was mixing popular rock tunes that blared out through the speakers.

"How long has it been?" Amora had to lean in and yell to ask. Loki just gave her a quizzical look, so she smiled wickedly and added, "Since your mortal let you off the leash?"

Loki rolled his eyes, then stopped to think about it. When _was_ the last time he'd gone out? Tony took him along to business parties and such, but they'd never been to a club together. He just shrugged and shook his head.

"You've become far too domesticated, darling," she said. She laughed, then, making a whip-cracking motion with her hand.

Loki gave her a gentle shove. "Don't mock me."

They started with a couple of drinks and stood off to the side of the room to watch the other dancers on the floor. Amora was scoping out the men, while Loki just looked bored. They were being sized up by some of the other patrons, though no one had dared approach them, yet.

After a while, Amora set her glass aside and winked at Loki before sauntering out to the dance floor. Loki watched her go, one hand in his jacket pocket and holding his drink in the other. It wasn't long before a short young woman sidled up to him. "Are you two together?" she asked, nodding in Amora's direction. 

"We came together, but we're just friends," he replied, not bothering to look at her.

"That's cool," she said, sipping her drink. "My friend over there," she waved in the appropriate direction, "she thinks you're really hot, but she's too shy to ask you to dance."

His gaze slid to her slowly, his expression neutral. "Well, she's welcome to join me on the floor later, but she should know that I'm already spoken for."

"Oh," the woman looked slightly disappointed, then smiled, "that's okay, she is, too. Her boyfriend doesn't have to know."

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed, finishing off his drink. He shucked off his coat. "If you'll excuse me," he said, stepping away from her and heading to the floor.

The music was so much louder on the dance floor than on the sides of the room that it felt like his heart was beating in time to the bass. He spotted Amora nearby, a small entourage of handsome men crowded around her. Only two were close enough to touch her, while the others watched hungrily. She caught Loki's glance and smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smirk back. A new song started to play, and Loki let himself be lost in the sound of a grinding guitar and the beating of a bass drum.

_The secret side of me, I never let you see, I keep it caged, but I can't control it..._

Loki danced. He was all long, lean limbs and a twirl of long black hair in the crowd. Soon enough, he'd attracted his own posse of dance partners -- men and women alike. He let go, letting himself enjoy the contact, comfortable in knowing that it wouldn't go any further than the dance floor. The songs changed, partners came and went, and when he needed a break, he accepted drinks from strangers. A quick glance at a nearby sofa confirmed that Amora was taking full advantage of the same attention.

After several hours of carousing like this, Amora finally pushed through her crowd of men and walked over to where Loki was nursing a drink against the wall. She took his glass from him and set it aside, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a long, drawn-out kiss. After so many drinks and high on the energy of the club, Loki not only accepted the attention, he returned it readily, his arms encircling her waist and pulling her close. Some of the on-lookers walked away disappointed and jealous, but others stayed and stared openly at the two of them. 

Amora leaned in and said in Loki's ear, "Time to go."

He nodded and kept a hand on the small of her back as he guided her toward the exit, grabbing his coat along the way.

Once they found another empty alley, they stepped straight through a portal in the wall and arrived back inside the hotel room. Amora pounced him, pulling Loki in for another bruising kiss that caused him to moan. "We shouldn't do this," he said when they pulled away.

"Hmm," Amora murmured and nipped at his neck. "I won't force you. Wouldn't want you to disappoint your master, now, would we?"

"He's not my--" Loki stopped and groaned as she palmed at his crotch through his pants. He blamed the kiss and the energy at the club for affecting him.

"Oh? Then prove it." She pulled him forward by the lapels and growled in his face. "Take me."

"No." Some sense cut through the fog of alcohol and arousal enough for him to push her hands away. "I don't need to prove anything to you. You're welcome to stay, but there will be nothing between us -- tonight or any other night."

Amora pouted, then she looked miffed. "You are no fun," she accused, backing away and crossing her arms. "I told you -- you're boring and domesticated, now."

Loki waved her off, heading for the bathroom. "Stay or do not. I don't much care at the moment."

Amora scoffed and threw her hands in the air, her outfit disappearing until she was bare. She gracefully collapsed onto the bed in all her naked glory, posing for Loki when he returned to the room for a pair of pajama bottoms. "Do you like what you see?" she drawled.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her before walking away again. "No means no, Amora."

Amora groaned and flopped down on the bed. "But I'm _so_ horny!" she whined loud enough for it to echo off the walls.

"Keep your voice down," Loki hissed through the open bathroom door as he changed. He heard her moan, and a quick glance around the door jamb confirmed that Amora was taking matters into her own hands. "For fuck's sake, Amora!"

"But Loki," she whined again, "I need to come! Please! Please help me?"

Loki slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it.

Miraculously, she never bothered to teleport into the bathroom to annoy him further. She screamed once she finished, and after a few moments, he chanced a peek out the door. "Do you feel better, now that you've woken the whole hotel?" he grumbled.

Amora chuckled. "Much better. Now, will you come to bed?"

"So long as you don't do that again in my presence, yes."

They got in under the covers, Loki respectfully keeping to the edge of his side of the bed, while Amora sprawled out and draped an arm over his chest. "Good night, Silvertongue," she murmured.

"Good night, Enchantress."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song playing in the club is Skillet's "Monster," which is my current favorite song for Loki.


	6. At the Seams

When Loki woke the next morning, Amora had curled up against him sometime during the night, her head on his chest and a leg draped over his. He rolled his eyes and gently extricated himself from her to go to the bathroom. He went about his morning routine and got dressed, ignoring her presence in his hotel bed until she started to stir. He sat beside her on the bed and stroked her hair from her face. "Would you like to join me for breakfast? I have to be going, soon."

Amora moaned softly and stretched. "I suppose," she murmured. She blinked sleepily, and realized that she was still naked. "Do you think they'll mind if I come to breakfast like this?" she joked.

"Yes," Loki replied, "as beautiful as your form is, I think the mortals would complain."

"Why, thank you, darling," she said, leaning up to kiss him on the lips.

Loki jerked away from her. "Please, Amora, I'm not drunk, anymore."

"I didn't know you needed to be drunk to kiss me," she said with a wink.

Loki grunted and got up off the bed. "I don't know that Tony -- my mortal -- would appreciate me kissing strange women, and you're as strange as they come, m'lady."

Amora chuckled and rolled off the bed, a long green day gown and white bolero-style eyelet sweater forming over her curves as she stood up. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said. She watched as Loki's features slid into those of William Hiddllesworth, and couldn't help but make a face. "Where did you ever get that disguise?"

Loki chuckled. "It's, uhm... the love child of two popular actors, I'm told."

"He's hideous." Amora sniffed.

"Yes, well, there is no accounting for taste among mortals, I'm afraid."

 

They parted ways after breakfast, and the first day of the convention was uneventful. Loki actually found himself quite bored come evening when he didn't have anything to do. He contemplated going out to the clubs, again, but decided against it. He picked through his notes and pamphlets from the convention, tossing the ones that were superfluous and keeping the few that were actually interesting. Once that was done, he sighed and looked at the clock. He picked up his phone and dialed Tony's number.

Tony picked up, "Hey babe! How was your day?"

Loki smiled. "It was alright. Not terribly exciting, and now I'm bored. How was your day?"

"It was exhausting, and I hardly did anything -- just more of the usual. We had a couple of meetings and appointments, stuff that couldn't or refused to be done during the regular work week."

"Yes, I remember your schedule was rather full this weekend."

Tony groaned. "I wish it wasn't. Would much rather be spending it with you."

Loki couldn't help but smile. "Me, too. It's boring without you."

"We'll have to create our own excitement when you get home. Hang on a second." There was a pause as JARVIS interrupted in the background. Loki shuffled his papers together as he waited, listening to Tony's muffled voice through the receiver. "Babe, I have to call you back," Tony said when he uncovered his phone. "Something's up with the reactor. I'm gonna go check it out."

Loki looked alarmed. "Do you need me to come home?"

"Not yet. Those fluctuations are spiking, again. I'm gonna dial down the power a bit and see if that helps keep it stable. I'll call you if I need you, okay? Try not to worry."

Loki sighed. "No promises that I won't worry. Please call me when you get done?"

"I will. I love you."

"Okay. Good luck."

 

 

As soon as Tony hung up with Loki, he headed down the elevator to the reactor. He went through the security protocols, just as they had done weeks before, but this time when the door opened, the hair on his neck stood on end as he realized he wasn't alone.

"Mr. Stark."

"Who the fuck are you?" Tony spat, eyeing the woman up and down. It was too bad she had broken into his Tower -- under better circumstances, he probably would have bedded this blonde bombshell perched precariously on his safety rail.

"My name is Amora," she replied with a grin.

"Amora," he echoed. "Oh, yeah. I remember you. We took you down when you tried going after Jane Foster. What brings you here?"

"Oh, just a little bit of _mischief_ ," she sang, giving him a pointed look. "I'm an old friend of Loki's. We met in Boston, yesterday. He told me a lot about you."

"Funny, he never said a thing about you."

Amora waved off his comment. "I wouldn't expect him to. Our relationship has always been... complicated."

"Uh-huh." Tony crossed his arms over his chest as he stepped closer to her and the reactor. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Tony," she said, tilting her head to one side, "isn't it a bit odd that your reactor had been working fine up until Loki came into your life?"

Tony shrugged. "Hadn't really noticed."

"Oh, please, you're a man of science, math, and figures. Surely you noticed the correspondence between his arrival and the start of the fluctuations."

"What of it? Are you implying he has something to do with this?"

"Directly or indirectly." She grinned at him. "But that's for me to know and you to figure out."

"I hate guessing games, so why don't you go ahead and tell me."

"But that wouldn't be any fun at all. Speaking of fun, Loki and I had a wonderful evening together last night, catching up on old times." She licked her lips. "He tastes the same as ever."

Tony felt his heart thud in his chest. "The hell are you talking about?"

Amora's eyes glinted dangerously. "He took me back to his hotel after we went dancing. It didn't take much convincing for him to take me to bed. He's still the same god I bedded all those centuries ago."

Tony choked down the bile in the back of his throat. "I didn't know Asgard had two gods of lies."

Amora chuckled. "You're cute. And handsome." She gave him a long, lingering look up and down. "No wonder Loki likes you."

Tony paused, glancing back at the closed door, then to Amora. "How'd you get in here, anyway?"

"Again, that's for me to know and you to figure out."

"I think I've already got you figured out." He held his hands out in front of him. "You're known as the Enchantress, right? You do magic, like Loki, and you've got some powerful magic, at that. You managed to magic yourself in here without setting off my security systems, and they still haven't gone off, meaning you're somehow shielding yourself or you're just a hologram." He moved to the controls and adjusted them as he continued, "Since Loki probably didn't know you were in the area, he didn't think of you when we were working on theories for the fluctuations with the reactor. If you're powerful enough to get in here, there's a good chance you're powerful enough to mess with my reactor, which would explain the presense of foreign magic inside it."

"Or, because you're forced to trust the only magic-user you know, Loki lied to you and planted his own magic inside of it," Amora countered. "Because you're right -- there is foreign magic that shouldn't be in there, but how do you know who it came from?"

"I don't. But I trust Loki."

"Why, because he's a great lay? Come now, Mr. Stark, you don't strike me as being naive."

"No, but you strike me as a conniving bitch."

Amora laughed. "Tony, why do you think I'm here, telling you all of this?" When he didn't answer, she contnued, "I'm doing it to protect you and your city. Loki is a dangerous man. You know as well as I do that if this reactor blows, it will take out Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the surrounding areas with it. You now know the two magic-users who are capable of triggering it or preventing it."

"So I do." Tony gazed up at the reactor. It looked the same as it ever did to him -- a swirling mass of blue energy. Only Loki had said he could tell the difference between the real energy and the foreign magic inside it. "But you know," he said, "the reactor didn't start fluctuating again until you showed up."

Amora shrugged. "It could be that Loki is doing it remotely."

"Could be. But I doubt it."

Amora slid off the safety rail and onto her feet, approaching him. "Well, when you decide who to trust and who to have on your side in the days ahead, why don't you give me a call?" She conjured a business card between her fingers.

He eyed it suspiciously. "I don't like being handed things," he deadpanned.

She chuckled as she leaned in close and tucked the card into a pocket in his jeans. "You should have heard Loki last night," she murmured in a sultry tone, locking eyes with Tony. "How he moaned and pleaded with me for more. He's so pretty when he begs, you know? How his lips part just so, how he shivers beneath you. And his taste is just divine, don't you agree?"

Tony raised his eyebrow at her, and backed away, heading for the door. "I trust you'll let yourself out?"

Amora just looked amused. "Of course. I'll be waiting for your call, Tony. Don't make me wait too long."

"Good night, Amora."

Tony waited for the door to the reactor's room to slide shut and the locks to bolt before he turned away and headed for the elevator. "JARVIS," he snapped, "get me Loki, now."

 

Loki had been pacing across his hotel room floor, chewing on a thumb nail, since Tony hung up. The moment the phone rang in his other hand, it was answered and to his ear almost before it registered. "Tony?"

"Loki."

The sharp tone of voice cause him to pause. "What's happened?"

"You need to come home. Now."

Loki glanced around the hotel room. "Should I pack, first?"

"No. Just magic yourself here, now."

Loki closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was standing in the penthouse living room, still holding the phone to his ear, though the signal had been lost during his teleportation. Tony was sitting in his chair, legs crossed, a glass in one hand and a white card in the other. Loki looked him over carefully -- what little he could see of the card looked strangely familiar. "Tony?" his voice was quiet.

Tony flicked the card to Loki who caught it deftly. "Your girlfriend there paid me a visit a moment ago."

Loki looked at the card in his hand. "Amora. What was she doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"We ran into each other yesterday at the library," Loki said, tucking his phone away and putting the card on the table. "We had tea. We spent some time together. We went our separate ways."

"You talked about me?"

"Of course. You're an important part of my life now."

Tony pursed his lips together. "What did you tell her about the reactor?"

Loki stared at him a moment, then sighed. "I asked for her help. She's one of the most powerful sorcerers in the universe. I tried to be as vague about the reactor as possible, but..."

"She was in the arc reactor room when I got there."

"I'm sorry."

Tony shrugged. "I'm not entirely convinced it's your fault that she was there. She snuck in once, who is to say she hasn't done it a hundred times without our noticing? She could have been the one who put that foreign magic into the reactor in the first place."

"I'll put up wards--"

"Forget it, Loki." Tony waved him off. "The entire time she was here, she tried to discredit you and talk me into believing that you're lying to me -- that you put the magic in there yourself. Since I don't do magic, you two are the only ones who can see what's going on, but I'm honestly not sure which one of you is telling me the truth."

Loki's face crumpled. "Tony, you know you can trust me, I would never tamper with your reactor! What would I have to gain from it?"

"I don't know yet." Tony eyed him up and down. "Speaking of trust and the truth, why don't you tell me more about what really happened last night?"

"We went out to a club. That's all." Loki's brow furrowed. "We had a few drinks, danced, and went back to the hotel."

"And then what?"

Loki shook his head and scowled. "Nothing."

Tony slammed his glass down on the table. "Dammit, Loki, tell me!"

Loki's heart fluttered in his chest and he closed his eyes for a moment. "I let her stay overnight. But nothing happened between us." His eyes opened again. Tony didn't look convinced. "Tony, I swear, nothing happened!"

"That's not what she said," Tony's tone of voice was eerily quiet as he stared at the floor in front of them.

"She's a lying whore!" Loki sounded desperate. "Yes, we were both aroused, but I refused her attentions and I wouldn't touch her! I let her share my bed, but we went straight to sleep. Please, Tony, you've got to believe me!"

When Tony met his gaze again, Loki took a step back, a lump forming in his throat.

"I used to trust you," Tony said evenly, "but now all I see when I look at you is just a backstab waiting to happen."

Loki shuddered at those words, feeling his heart shatter in his chest. It was as if his worst nightmare was becoming real. "Tony, please... please, forgive me."

"No," came Tony's cold reply. "I'm not ready to forgive you -- not right now, anyway. What you did was disrepectful to both me and our relationship. I don't know how you do things on Asgard, but here on Earth, we have this little thing called monogamy. If you wanted to sleep with someone else, you could have at least asked."

"I didn't have sex with her! We just slept in the same bed -- that's all it was!"

"Yeah, and how am I supposed to trust you? You didn't even tell me when it happened; I had to hear about it from her. I wouldn't even know what the truth was."

"Because it's _me_ , Anthony!" Loki reached for his hand. "Please, you have to believe me. I said I wouldn't lie to you, and I meant it!"

Tony yanked his hand away and stood from his chair. "No, you said you wouldn't lie about anything consequential -- this, this is quite consequential. And the consequence is that you need to get out of my tower before I physically throw you out."

Loki was close to tears, shaking his head. "Would that make you feel better, Tony?" he whispered. "To throw me out the window the way I threw you all those months ago?"

"No. It might feel nice for a moment, but it won't do anything productive. Now, get out." Tony turned to walk away.

Loki reached for him, again. "Tony--"

"I said, _GET OUT!_ " Tony roared, wheeling around and punching Loki square in the jaw.

Dumbstruck and heartbroken, Loki slumped to his knees with a hand to his face, allowing himself to disappear in a shimmer of light. He materialized in his darkened hotel room. He couldn't breathe -- he was gasping for air but couldn't catch his breath. "Tony," he sobbed, covering his tear-streaked face with his hands. "Tony!"

 

As soon as Loki disappeared, Tony's guilt set in. His first solution was to grab another drink. His next solution was to go down to his workshop and bring up the energy readings on the reactor. He dove into his work, matching up dates and data, playing around with different simulations and monitors. When he had finally reached his limit, mentally, he held himself together until he reached his private gym -- then took out all his rage and emotions on a hanging punching bag in the corner.

He didn't stop until his vision blurred so badly that he could no longer see his target. He half-heartedly banged his fists against the punching bag, then rested his forehead against it as he panted for breath.

"Alright," his voice cracked as he spoke, and he rubbed the heels of his hands against his tear-soaked eyes. "Focus. Need to focus. Shit." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his list of contacts, searching for people to call. He tried Bruce, first, but was sent straight to voicemail -- implying that the doctor was off-radar, at the moment. Tony sighed and tried his second choice. "Thor? Buddy, are you still in New York?"

"Of course, Tony, I'm still here in the tower," came Thor's reply. "What is it you need?"

"You do magic, right? Not as good as Loki's, but at least some?"

"I have never been as good as my brother, but I have some basic knowledge and ability, yes."

"Alright." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "I need you to come to the elevator and take a quick trip downstairs with me. There's something I want you to look at."

"Very well," Thor replied. "I will see you in a moment."

"Thanks," Tony said as he hung up.

They met in the elevator, and Tony didn't meet Thor's gaze as they travelled to the lower levels.

"Tony," Thor said quietly, "you don't look well. What is wrong?"

"I'll tell you about it, later," Tony brushed him off. "I want to get this done, first."

Thor nodded and let the issue drop, staring at the floor indicator on the elevator. "I don't believe I have been down here, before," he said.

"You haven't," Tony confirmed. "So, this will be a good trial-run to make sure the security works, in case you ever need to come down here." When they stepped out onto the floor to the arc reactor room, Tony gestured for Thor to go first. Thor warily stepped forward to place his hand on the scanner, and his eye to the appropriate hole for the retina scan. Tony followed suit and the doors slid open, allowing them into the room. There were no extra visitors waiting for them, this time, for which Tony was infinitely thankful.

Thor was awestruck by the reactor. "Is this... this is what powers your tower, isn't it?"

Tony nodded. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" he asked, though his voice lacked the usual pride he took in his work. "Now, do me a favor." He led the way up to the safety rail, gesturing Thor closer. "Stand here. Look into the reactor -- I mean, really look at it. Tell me what you see."

Thor blinked at him, but complied, standing where he was told and leaning forward slightly to peer in through the glass.

Tony stood beside him and pulled out his Stark Pad, holding it up to the glass and running a scan on the reactor. "Do you see anything unusual?" Tony asked, trying to adjust the monitor on his tablet.

"Nothing stands out immediately, no," Thor replied.

"Alright. One of the things Loki does is he closes his eyes and 'looks' at it that way. Can you try that for me?"

Thor looked uncomfortable. "I can try," he said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This sort of "seeing" didn't come naturally to the god of thunder, so it took him several minutes of quiet concentration before the reactor appeared in his vision. "I see the reactor's energy," he reported.

"Good," Tony said calmly. "Now, look deeper, toward its core. Do you see anything different?"

Another couple of minutes passed before Thor spoke again. "I see... something."

"Yeah?" Tony said, playing with the pad again. His map of the reactor was becoming more and more detailed as time passed. It was eating up processing power and memory like no tomorrow, but it was worth the risk of frying the pad if it meant getting to the bottom of the problem. "What do you see?"

"There's a mass, there." Thor pointed, his finger touching the glass. "Toward the middle. Your reactor's energy is running into and around it, but cannot go through it."

Tony followed where Thor was pointing, then checked his map. "What else can you tell me about it?"

"It seems to be magic-based," Thor concluded.

"That's what we figured. Any idea who might have put it there?"

Thor scowled and his brow furrowed as he strained to concentrate on the magical mass in question. "It's... it doesn't seem familiar."

Tony looked up at him at that. "So, it's not Loki's?"

Thor's concentration broke completely at that as his head snapped up to stare at Tony. "No. Of course it isn't."

Tony nodded, turning his attention back to his monitor. He gestured Thor in closer. "Is this what you saw? This, here?" he pointed to the anomallly on the screen.

Thor leaned in and looked. "Yes, that's it, right there." He pointed without touching the pad -- he knew that his touching such things tended to make them malfunction.

"Right," Tony nodded, screen-capping it for later. "Good. That's all I needed to know. We can go back upstairs, now." He turned and led the way back to the elevator, Thor hot on his heels.

"Now, will you tell me what that was all about?" Thor asked.

Tony swallowed hard, his guilt coming back in full force. "I need another drink, first."

"Tony? My friend, I really must protest."

"You can protest all you want, Big Guy, but I'm not going to say a word until I get my drink."

Thor sighed and gritted his teeth together, remaining silent for the rest of the ride.

Once inside the penthouse suite, Thor took over the sofa while Tony went to the bar to pour himself another drink. He came back to the living area and sat heavily in his chair, rubbing his temples with his free hand. "I've made a terrible mistake," he admitted suddenly.

Thor said nothing, just waited for Tony to collect himself.

"What do you know about Amora?" Tony asked. "Rather, her relationship to Loki."

"She is one of the most powerful magicians in the nine realms," Thor said, "so she and Loki have had dealings in the past. To my knowledge, it was strictly a business relationship -- they taught each other. Her specialities lie in magic dealing with the mind, whereas Loki is -- was -- more of a shape-shifter. Why do you ask?"

Tony snorted sadly. "I don't think she needed to use any magic on my mind. I fucked up, Thor. Badly. And Loki's the one paying the price for it."

"I do not understand."

"Amora showed up here, downstairs, at the arc reactor. Apparently she and Loki had a run-in in Boston, yesterday, though it was friendly. She tried to get me to believe that it was more than just friendly, that they had slept together. And I kind of fell for it."

Thor chuckled. "Perhaps in another time and place, such a thing would have happened. But Loki is much different now than he used to be." He gestured to Tony. "You were once like my friend Fandral, were you not? Bedding every beautiful woman who looked your way?"

Tony sipped his drink. "You could say that." 

"And under different circumstances, would you not have fallen under Amora's charm?"

"Alright, you know me too well, Big Guy."

"So what if my brother bedded Amora? What would it change?"

"Nothing," Tony said into his glass. "But he should have asked, first."

Thor waved him off. "We're very much a people of, 'It's easier to beg forgiveness than to ask permission,' I'm afraid. And whether or not it's true, I'm to assume that Loki did beg for forgiveness?"

Tony closed his eyes and refused to look at Thor, holding his cold glass to his forehead. "I'm such an idiot."

"You are human."

"I said horrible things to him, yelled at him, hit him..." Tony downed the last of his drink and let his head fall back so that he was looking at the ceiling. "I failed him, Thor, in every possible way."

Thor nodded sadly. "He holds your opinion of him in the highest regard, my friend. If he believes you are truly angry with him, it will take time for him to recover."

Tony groaned, pulling his phone out of his pocket and staring at it blankly. "I don't know what to do. What if he won't talk to me?"

"You won't know unless you try." Thor straightened in his seat. "He will come back, sooner or later."

Tony looked at him. "What if he doesn't?"

Thor gave him a sad smile. "He always does, one way or another."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EverAnon gets cookies for guessing MY ENTIRE SET UP FOR THIS CHAPTER. GAH.
> 
> Oh well. I still love you. <3


End file.
